Hangin&#39; With Haskinhttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/default.aspxenCommunityServer 2007.1 (Build: 20917.1142) ‘Out of the Clouds’ an Epic Look at American Historyhttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/11/18/-_1820_Out-of-the-Clouds_1920_-an-Epic-Look-at-American-History.aspxSun, 18 Nov 2018 15:00:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:649024Michelle Benson0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=649024http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/11/18/-_1820_Out-of-the-Clouds_1920_-an-Epic-Look-at-American-History.aspx#comments<p>Thoroughbred racing’s Golden Age, as we know it, was the decade of the ‘70s when we had three Triple Crown winners, as well as equine heroes such as Ruffian, Forego, Spectacular Bid, Alydar, and the rags to riches Canonero II.<br><br>But to our parents’ generation, racing’s Golden Age were the years following Word War II when the Sport of Kings got back in full swing following a brief shutdown in January, 1945 due to the war. The end of the war brought great prosperity. The Depression was over and Americans were returning to their normal lives, with many fathers seeing their babies for the first time. The racetrack grandstands were once again full, as crowds of 40,000 to 60,000 flocked to New York tracks every weekend. It was truly a time for growth.<br><br>If you feel we have great rivalries in racing now, they are nothing compared to the battles in 1946 and ’47 pitting future Hall of Famers Stymie, Assault, Armed, and Gallorette against each other.<br><br>On 13 occasions, some combination of those four finished first and second, and on nine occasions they finished first and third. Assault, Stymie, and Gallorette finished first, second, and third in the Butler Handicap, and Armed, Stymie, and Gallorette finished first, third, and fourth in the Pimlico Special. On another occasion, Armed defeated Assault in a match race. To demonstrate just how formidable Gallorette was, she competed against males an amazing 55 times, defeating Stymie in four of their seven confrontations, while Stymie and Triple Crown winner Assault raced against each other eight times.<br><br>Immediately following these four superstars came the legendary Citation, who would become the last horse to sweep the Triple Crown until Secretariat 25 years later.<br><br>Many racing fans know the names of the aforementioned horses, but they do not know the story behind the story of that era and all the colorful characters that dominated the sport. <br><br>That brings us to a sensational book, titled “Out of the Clouds,” by Linda Carroll and David Rosner, which not only brings this era to life, but the prior decades going back to the streets of New York City during The Depression through its main character, Hirsch Jacobs, one of the true innovators and geniuses the sport has ever known. The book, which transcends Thoroughbred racing, is a piece of American history, revolving around Jacobs, his historic $1,500 claim of Stymie, and his charismatic partner, Isador “Izzy” Bieber, one of the city’s biggest bettors and feared brawlers, who would take on anyone in fisticuffs and personified the true Damon Runyon character. In fact, it was Bieber, who was the inspiration for Runyon’s “Guys and Dolls.”<br><br>Runyon, in fact, is a major figure in the book, being close friends with Jacobs and Bieber, who basically was the money man behind the Jacobs’ stable. There was no more of a Damon Runyon character than Runyon himself, and his colorful life and close relationship with Jacobs are explored in great depth. Runyon was another of the high rollers portrayed in the book. Also playing prominent roles in the story of Jacobs, Bieber, and Runyon are J. Edgar Hoover, Colonel E.R. Bradley, and some of the most notorious figures in American history, such as Arnold Rothstein, Al Capone, and Frank Costello.<br><br>When it comes to history and colorful characters, “Out of the Clouds” is right up there with “Seabiscuit,” and is as riveting a racing/history book from start to finish as I have ever read. <br><br>This is history combined with the quintessential Horatio Alger story, with the backdrop of The Depression and WWII, and growing up in New York City racing pigeons, all beautifully woven together through historical events and individuals, not to mention one of the most popular horses of all time and himself an equine Horatio Alger story, who rose from the lowly claiming ranks to become the leading money-winning horse of all time.<br><br>You will be fascinated by Jacobs’ rise and how he revolutionized the Sport of Kings, linking the predominantly Jewish and Italian neighborhood of the East New York section of Brooklyn to the bluebloods and titans of industry that ruled racing. From training cheap claimers and boosting his number of victories almost every year while leading the nation in wins 11 times from 1933 to 1944 to becoming a true pioneer, breeding, owning, and training his own horses and building one of the sport’s great dynasties, Jacobs all the while remained unassuming and a dedicated family man, who never lost touch with his roots.<br><br>Not only did Jacobs defeat a Triple Crown winner in Assault, his daughter Patrice would own 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed with her husband Lou Wolfson, and his son John would become one of the few trainers to win two legs of the Triple Crown in one year with two different horses (Personality in the Preakness and High Echelon in the Belmont Stakes). Jacobs, who raced under his wife Ethel’s name, bred both Personality and High Echelon. Jacobs would also revolutionize the breeding industry.<br><br>He bred Hail to Reason, one of the great sires of his era, who sired six champions and classic winners Proud Clarion (Kentucky Derby), Roberto (English Derby), and Personality (Preakness Stakes). He purchased the filly Searching from Ogden Phipps, bred her to Hail to Reason, and the resulting filly, Priceless Gem, wound up defeating Phipps’ greatest horse ever, Buckpasser, in the Futurity Stakes. Priceless Gem went on to produce the great French filly Allez France, winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Searching also produced champion and Hall of Famer Affectionately, the dam of Personality, and Admiring, the dam of the stakes-winning Glowing Tribute, who produced Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero.<br><br>And it all started with the $1,500 claimer Stymie, who raced 131 times, earned over $918,000, and launched Jacobs’ career to heights he could only have dreamed about.<br><br>One of my favorite anecdotes in the book was when J. Edgar Hoover, who had special agents place his big bets for him, invited Hirsch and Ethel Jacobs to lunch in the Laurel Race Course clubhouse. During their conversation, Hoover “turned to Hirsch and made a startling confession.” He told him, “I had you investigated. You have no idea how many people I had working for you. I had FBI men working for you as grooms and exercise boys, checking you out. I had to find out if you were using something. Congratulations, you were clean. They came up with absolutely nothing. Not one could come up with a story of drugs or anything like that. You were one hundred percent clean.”<br><br>I normally do not devote an entire column recommending a book, but this one is special, transporting the reader back to a number of different places and times in history, and providing an inside look into the world of Thoroughbred racing through a kaleidoscope of color. It is a true slice of Americana, introducing you to a cast of characters, both human and equine, you will never forget, and the eras in which they lived.<br></p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=649024" width="1" height="1">hangin with haskinlinda carrolldavid rosnerHarvesting the Crop of 2013http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/11/04/Harvesting-the-Crop-of-2013.aspxMon, 05 Nov 2018 00:46:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:649014Michelle Benson0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=649014http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/11/04/Harvesting-the-Crop-of-2013.aspx#comments<p>On April 12, 2016, the four major Kentucky Derby prep winners were Florida Derby winner Nyquist, Santa Anita Derby winner Exaggerator, Blue Grass Stakes winner Brody’s Cause, and Wood Memorial winner Outwork.<br><br>Following three straight defeats, Nyquist was retired after a sixth-place finish in the Sept. 24 Pennsylvania Derby, Exaggerator was retired after a seventh-place finish in the Pennsylvania Derby, Brody’s Cause was retired after a sixth-place finish in the June 11 Belmont Stakes, and Outwork was retired after a 14th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Creator, who would win the Arkansas Derby, was retired after a seventh-place finish in the Travers Stakes.<br><br>The crop of 2013 appeared destined for failure and a sure thing to fade quickly into obscurity, making little impact on the sport.<br><br>The only winner of a major Derby prep that was still around by the fall was Louisiana Derby winner Gun Runner, but back on April 12 there were major questions about the No. 8 ranked 3-year-old on Derby Dozen. As I wrote, “Gun Runner is another who has looked impressive visually in his two stakes victories at Fair Grounds, but he’s been running slow speed figures and beating questionable competition, so we really have no idea how good this colt is.”<br><br>That was the Derby picture on April 12 and what would become of the crop’s five major stars, none of whom made it past September.<br><br>Then on April 17, there was maiden race run at Los Alamitos. No one paid much attention to it, as there did not appear to be any potential standouts in the field. The winner, Westbrook, would win only one more race in his career for a $50,000 claiming tag.<br><br>Finishing second in that maiden race was a first time starter named Accelerate. Finishing a neck farther back in third was another first time starter named Arrogate.<br><br>There was no way anyone could have foreseen that Arrogate, Gun Runner, and Accelerate would go on to win the next three runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The crop that seemed doomed to failure after the decline and early retirement of its biggest stars became the first crop ever to produce three Breeders’ Cup Classic winners, with Arrogate, Gun Runner, and Accelerate earning an astronomical $39.2 million, and Arrogate and Gun Runner each winning the richest race in the world, and Arrogate adding the second richest race in the world.<br><br>Accelerate, with his victory in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, put his crop into the history books and ended the longest winless Breeder Cup streak by a trainer, as he enabled John Sadler to finally reach the winner’s circle after 44 consecutive defeats.<br><br>It seems that most every year, people at some point criticize the 3-year-old crop without knowing what history has in store for it and what gems lie hidden beneath the surface. If any crop seemed destined for anonymity and being deemed inconsequential it was the crop of 2013, the crop that has now written its own chapter in the annals of the sport.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ********<br><br>While on the same subject, many have already criticized this year’s crop of 3-year-olds following the Breeders’ Cup Classic failures of Travers winner Catholic Boy, Pennsylvania Derby winner McKinzie, and Pennylvania Derby runner-up Axelrod. But what was lost on Breeders’ Cup day was the sensational comeback performance by Florida Derby and Holy Bull winner and Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Audible in the Cherokee Run Stakes and the solid third-place finish of Preakness and Haskell runner-up and Travers third-place finisher Bravazo against older horses in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, run in a blistering 1:33 4/5, three-fifths off the track record. Finishing behind him were the undefeated 4-year-old California Cruiser and the 5-year-old Isotherm, who had just finished 2 3/4 lengths behind Accelerate in the grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes. <br><br>And in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, no one can fault Mendelssohn’s fifth-place finish, beaten only four lengths, after again setting wicked fractions of :22 3/5, :46 2/5, an 1:10 3/5. No one, especially a 3-year-old competing against older horses, can be expected to withstand the fractions he set in the Classic and in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. And this is a horse who was making his sixth transatlantic trip to the United States, five this year alone, totaling 45,000 miles.<br><br>All three of the aforementioned horses competed in the Kentucky Derby, as did Firenze Fire, the fourth-place finisher in the BC Dirt Mile after racing way too close to the early pace set by the winner.<br><br>So, despite the inexplicably poor performances by Catholic Boy and McKinzie, the Kentucky Derby starters acquitted themselves very well on Breeders’ Cup day.<br><br>And on the grass front, 3-year-old Analyze It ran the race of his life to be beaten a half-length and a neck in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; *******<br><br>Congratulations to trainer Antonio Sano, who saw his $16,000 yearling purchase, Gunnevera, increase his lifetime earnings to over $4.1 million. <br><br>And congratulations to trainer Peter Miller and co-owners Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen for winning both the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and Turf Sprint in back-to-back years with the same two horses, Roy H and Stormy Liberal, and doing it in California and Kentucky, and in the aftermath of the devastating San Luis Rey Downs fire, where Miller trains his horses.<br><br>And, finally, congratulations to the sensational Enable, the first horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and Breeders’ Cup Turf in the same year, and truly one of the great fillies of all time. Juddmonte Farms has now won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Turf, and Mile in the past three years, and with three different trainers.<br><br>Even in defeat, Aidan O’Brien never ceases to astound us, as does the resilience of his horses. The 3-year-old filly Magical ran such a game race in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, pushing Enable to a dramatic, hard-earned victory, despite having raced in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 7 and the Champions Fillies Stakes at Ascot on Oct. 20, then coming back in two weeks for the Breeders’ Cup for her third race in less than a month…in three different countries, all at a mile and a half, and on firm, soft, and good ground.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; *******&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<br>For anyone who became caught up in Pennsylvania’s glory days with Pennsylvania owned, bred, and trained Smarty Jones and Pennsylvania-owned Afleet Alex in 2004 and 2005, it was great to see the uniting of the two camps, with Smarty’s trainer John Servis and Afleet Alex’s owner Cash is King Stable hook up to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with the brilliant Jaywalk, who crushed a talented field by 5 1/2 lengths.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; *******<br>To once again reiterate the remarkable sire line influence of Fappiano, who was owned and bred by John Nerud and helped build Nerud’s estate on Long Island, as he liked to say, both Breeders’ Cup 2-year-old winners on dirt, Game Winner and Jaywalk, are from the Fappiano sire line. Game Winner’s sire Candy Ride is a great grandson of Fappiano through Cryptoclearance and Ride the Rails, and Jaywalk’s sire Cross Traffic is a great grandson of Fappiano through Unbridled and Unbridled’s Song. <br><br>To further demonstrate the influence of the Fappiano sire line, others who trace to him are American Pharoah (through Unbridled, Empire Maker, and Pioneer of the Nile), Arrogate (through Unbridled and Unbridled’s Song), Gun Runner (through Cryptoclearance, Ride the Rails, and Candy Ride), Always Dreaming (through Unbridled. Empire Maker, and Bodemeister), and Shared Belief (through Cryptoclearance, Ride the Rails and Candy Ride). Also with Fappiano in her sire’s pedigree is Monomoy Girl through his great-great grandson Tapit and Tapit’s son Tapizar.</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=649014" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cuphangin with haskinAccelerateAnalysis of the Breeders' Cup Classichttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/11/01/analysis-of-the-breeders-cup-classic.aspxThu, 01 Nov 2018 15:54:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:649009emorgan0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=649009http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/11/01/analysis-of-the-breeders-cup-classic.aspx#comments<p>I must start off by admitting that this is one race where my
opinion changes, not by the day, but by the hour. I must also admit that two of
my favorite horses are in the field, both of whom I would love to see win. They
are CATHOLIC BOY and MIND YOUR BISCUITS. I have been a huge fan of Catholic Boy
from the moment I laid on him in the paddock before the Remsen Stakes, and Mind
Your Biscuits has added an entirely new meaning to the word versatility, for he
has accomplished things no horse has ever accomplished before in terms of
breaking out of the mold of a pure sprinter. I also have been a huge fan of GUNNEVERA since last year's Derby Dozen, and you won't find a better story than his trainer Antonio Sano.<br></p>
<p>I believe that Catholic Boy has superstar potential,
especially the way he has developed physically. He has really grown into a
powerhouse of a racehorse, from the shoulders to the hind end and through the
girth. He looks like a totally different horse from last year and even early
this year.</p>
<p>Just a note, if Catholic Boy and MENDELSSOHN should finish
1,2, which certainly is not out of the realm of possibility, could anyone have
imagined two horses running in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf going on to
finish first and second in the Breeders' Cup Classic? Speaking of Mendelssohn, no one deserves to win this race more than Aidan O'Brien, who has supported it since 2000, sending horses almost every year. He's had some tough breaks and it would be a great story if he finally won with a horse like Mendelssohn, who has now made an amazing six trips to the United States, traveling a total of 45,000 miles. And he would be the first horse ever to win Breeders' Cup races on grass and dirt. </p>
<p>But this is about handicapping angles and finding the value
horses and huge longshots. I believe Catholic Boy and Mind Your Biscuits are
both going to be bet, although in this field they still would pay a pretty
decent price. Needless to say I am rooting for both horses.</p>
<p>Let's start by saying that Catholic Boy is attempting to
become only the second horse ever to win the Travers and Breeders' Cup Classic
in the same year, the other being Arrogate. Also, WEST COAST is attempting to
become the first horse ever to win the Travers and Breeders' Cup Classic in
different years. Mind Your Biscuits is attempting to become the first Breeders'
Cup Classic winner to have won a grade 1 race at six furlongs. And lastly,
ACCELERATE is attempting to become the first horse to sweep the Santa Anita
Handicap, Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic and go on to win the Breeders' Cup
Classic.&nbsp;
</p><p>Even the pace scenario of the Classic is difficult to figure
out. It would seem that Mendelssohn is the likely pacesetter, but there are
others who can take up that roll if their rider decides he wants the lead. So
we really don't know where all these pace horses are going to wind up as they
head into the first turn. From the rail out, Thunder Snow, Catholic Boy,
McKinzie, West Coast, Mendelssohn, and Accelerate are all going to be vying for
position close to the lead, although Catholic Boy used to be a come from behind
horse, so he may return to those tactics if Javier Castellano feels the pace is
too hot. With so many horses with tactical speed, it is important for Joel
Rosario to make sure Accelerate, breaking from post 14, doesn't get hung too
wide. He did in the Awesome Again and although he won, his Thoro-Graph number
was significantly slower than anything he'd run in his previous four races, and
they crawled home in that race over a track that was playing slow.</p>
<p>If you go by the morning line, Accelerate will be the
clear-cut favorite, with West Coast, McKinzie, Mind Your Biscuits, and Catholic
Boy all close for second choice. Strictly from a longshot player's point of
view, all those horses will be too short to cash a big win ticket, although the
fourth and fifth choices still could be considered overlays. WEST COAST looks like the horse most likely to improve after being uncharacteristically rank early in the Awesome Again and dragging Mike Smith to the front way too early. If he returns to the Pegasus World Cup, where he ran a huge negative 4 1/4 on Thoro-Graph chasing Gun Runner home he will very tough. Interesting that Smith went with McKinzie, but you have like John Velazquez getting the mount. </p>
<p>The lowest of the double-digit horses is YOSHIDA at 10-1,
and for a long time I was seriously considering him as my best value horse. I
just like his Woodward and the way he came home his final three-eighths. It is
interesting to note, however, that runner-up GUNNEVERA actually got a faster
Thoro-Graph number and Gunnevera is listed at double Yoshida's odds at 20-1. I
couldn't help but think back a year to Good Samaritan, with the same connections
as Yoshida, who looked like a world beater winning the Jim Dandy Stakes in his
dirt debut. Good Samaritan then finished fifth, beaten nine lengths in the
Travers Stakes in his next start as the 7-2 favorite. He went on to run some good
races on the dirt and some bad ones, but never duplicated the brilliance he
displayed in the Jim Dandy. Sometimes a grass horse's best effort on the dirt
will be his first one. Now whether all that applies to Yoshida we have no idea.
But it is something to consider. That all but assures that my original assessment will be correct and he will indeed be the best value horse. </p>
<p>So, where is the value, the overlay, or the longshot who can
shock the world. The value and overlay could very well be <b>THUNDER SNOW</b>. I had originally lumped him with those mentioned
above, but I do like his 12-1 odds, if he indeed will be that high. Call me old
school, but, although some may not like it, I loved his half-mile blowout in a
bullet :47 2/5 on Wednesday. Yes, many will say it's too fast a work so close
to the race and only five days after working seven furlongs in 1:27, in which
he was being ridden a long way out. What one has to realize is that Thunder
Snow is a very lazy, playful type horse and needs encouragement in the morning.
And he works alone. I also love the fact that he has had four works at
Churchill Downs since his excellent second-place finish in the Jockey Club Gold
Cup.</p>
<p>He was given an easy five-eighths in 1:04 3/5, then an easy
mile in 1:42, which is also old school and something you don't see much
anymore. That was followed by his seven-furlong work, in which he failed to
switch leads until right before the wire, then galloped out very strongly and
didn't pull up until almost at the half-mile pole. The fact that his trainer
and assistant trainer, who has been caring for him here, felt he needed to have
a quick half-mile blowout three days before the race shows how the colt thrives
on work, and in fact needs it.</p>
<p>He has been known for staying on his left lead, but he did
switch leads beautifully and on cue in Wednesday's work and continued on
strongly past the wire as if he wanted to do a lot more. This is a horse who is
sharp and fit. And for a little statistical tidbit, the last two Breeders' Cup
Classic winners at Churchill Downs - Drosselmeyer and Blame - both were coming
off second-place finishes in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. What I loved about his
neck defeat at Belmont Park was that he was coming off only one poor effort on
the grass in the past six months, and in that poor effort, the Juddmonte
International, he threw his right front shoe and his left hind shoe in the race
and basically got nothing out of it. The Gold Cup really moved him forward and
he should be ready for a peak effort.</p>
<p>In the Gold Cup he was farther off the pace than usual after
Diversify self destructed setting blazing fractions, and despite being a short
horse, he made up eighth lengths from the three-quarters to the mile, zipping
that quarter in a sprightly :23 1/5. He got a bit tired late as was just nipped
at the wire. His Thoro-Graph number of negative 2 1/4 was just slightly lower
than his negative 2 3/4 in the Dubai World Cup, in which he trounced West Coast
and Pavel by nearly six lengths, leading the entire way.</p>
<p>This is also a horse who can beat you in a dogfight, as he
showed in the UAE Derby or he can win off by himself, as he did in the World
Cup. He will break from the rail and should be forwardly placed, saving ground.
He may need some luck being down on the inside, but I'm confident Christophe
Soumillon, who is used to being covered up in Europe, will be able to work out
a trip.</p><p>Going a step farther and looking for that monster hit, I am
going to save time and space and refer readers to my recent column on why you
should not ignore <b>PAVEL.</b> </p>
<p>(<a mce_href="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/21/Bombs-Away_2100_-Don_1920_t-Ignore-Pavel-in-Classic.aspx" href="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/21/Bombs-Away_2100_-Don_1920_t-Ignore-Pavel-in-Classic.aspx">http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/21/Bombs-Away_2100_-Don_1920_t-Ignore-Pavel-in-Classic.aspx</a>.)&nbsp;
</p><p>This column goes through the colt's entire career and all
the adversity he had to face and how much he was asked to do. Listed at 20-1,
he is a horse who was meant for stardom, but given an introduction to racing
that was unprecedented. However, he proved in his first four career starts that
he was something special. Much like Volponi, the 43-1 upsetter of the Classic
in 2002, he has meandered his way to the race in the most unconventional
manner, but somehow got there ready for a peak performance. And of course we
all know he won the grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs two races back
when he finally came into a race in top form and away from California. </p>
<p>I love the way he looks physically and the way he's been
moving over the track each morning. He has one of the strongest pedigrees in
the field and his only inbreeding is to Caro, one of my favorite influences for
class, speed, stamina, and toughness.</p>
<p>The big question mark is ROARING LION, and if his female family prevails and he takes to the dirt, he should be firing bullets in the stretch. Unlike many Euros he doesn't need to be covered up and is quite content to run outside of horses and then come charging on the far outside to wear down his opposition with a relentless stretch run. Although Churchill is a long stretch, he likely will need every foot of it. He is a total guess, but you get a tough horse with tons of class. And John Gosden just doesn't lose big races these days.<br></p><p>So, to summarize from a handicapping angle, I like <b>THUNDER SNOW</b> and <b>PAVEL</b> to win at big prices. I just have to figure out how to use
them in the exotics; mostly like in a trifecta box with Catholic Boy and Mind
Your Biscuits, and probably throw in Accelerate just to protect. I would also
have to play them in exacta boxes with McKinzie, Gunnevera, West Coast, Yoshida, and
Mendelssohn. For a real huge exacta or trifecta, I can see <b>GUNNEVERA</b> rallying to pick up a piece of it or even win it. He's been looking awfully good in
the mornings and, as I said,he is another of whom I've always been a big fan. His race in the
Woodward was huge, having to circle the field 10-wide and he got a higher Thoro-Graph number than the winner. And I'm still leaving
out horses like Axelrod, Roaring Lion, and Discreet Lover. That's how tough a
race this is.</p><p><br></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=649009" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cup ClassicWest CoastMind Your BiscuitsMendelssohnCatholic BoyAnalysis of Saturday's Breeders' Cup Raceshttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/31/analysis-of-saturday-s-breeders-cup-races.aspxWed, 31 Oct 2018 20:01:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:649008Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=649008http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/31/analysis-of-saturday-s-breeders-cup-races.aspx#comments<p>Included are all races except for the Classic, which will have a column of its own. Also check the final column for any changes and updates based on late defections and final observations from the morning’s activities.</p>
<p><b>FILLY AND MARE SPRINT</b> – This race promises to have an early cavalry charge, with so much speed. One of the fastest fillies, SELCOURT, will have to bust out of there from the rail. She crushed the favorite, MARLEY’S FREEDOM in the Santa Monica back in March, but hasn’t run since, so she will be fresh in addition to having blazing speed and the inside post. GOLDEN MISCHIEF, gutsy winner of the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes in her last out, defeating three other fillies in the field, wowed everyone in her workout the other morning. That, and having won three consecutive stakes, should send her off at lower that her 10-1 morning line odds. Of course, the filly to beat definitely is Marley’s Freedom, who has won four in a row, three of them in graded stakes since being turned over to Bob Baffert. Her 3 1/4-length score in the grade 1 Ballerina Stakes last time out in a sprightly 1:21 1/5 makes her the overwhelming favorite, especially with the defection of stablemate Dream Tree. You can pick the others out of a hat and have a good chance of being right there, and this race has produced some unexpected winners. The one filly who caught my eye at 15-1 is <b>MIA MISCHIEF</b>, who is one of the few fillies who has excellent speed, but is comfortable coming from off the pace if she has to. She has a record of two wins and two seconds in her four starts at Churchill Downs; she’s never been worse than second going seven furlongs; she’s been first or second in nine of her 10 career starts; and the last time she ran at Churchill, she won the seven-furlong Eight Belles Stakes this past March in 1:21 4/5, earning a career high 97 Beyer speed figure. She is coming off a six-furlong sharpener in the Prioress Stakes, in which she was second to the undefeated Dream Tree after battling on the lead until inside the eighth pole. She has a terrific post (8) and has been training well for Steve Asmussen.</p>
<p><b>TURF SPRINT</b> – This is another crap shoot, with last year’s winner STORMY LIBERAL the often brilliant DISCO PARTNER, the world record holder at six furlongs, and the speedy and classy WORLD OF TROUBLE the horses to beat. Of these, I like <b>World of Trouble</b>, who is extremely fast and has really taken to the grass and handles yielding ground. There is a huge pool of longshots to choose from, but I will go with two of them. <b>RAINBOW HEIR</b> is an 8-year-old New Jersey bred who has won 14 races in his career, scoring in stakes at five furlongs, 5 1/2 furlongs, and six furlongs. The main question with him is the ground. He has been mostly a firm course horse, but he has run well on good going. Two starts back he won the Gulfstream Turf Sprint, earning a career high 106 Beyer speed figure, which is several points higher than Stormy Liberal ran in last year’s BC Turf Sprint. You have to admire a tough old horse like this who has not lost a step. He won his first four career starts on dirt, including the grade 3 Jersey Shore Stakes by five lengths in 1:09 2/5. The other horse I like at 20-1 is the European invader <b>HAVANA GREY</b>, a winner of six of 15 starts who likes give in the ground and is more effective on soft going than firm. Although he is coming off an eighth-place finish in the 16-horse group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye, he was only beaten 2 3/4 lengths and drops 13 pounds off that race and gets Lasix for the first time. Two races back he won a group 1 stakes at the Curragh over yielding ground and had an excellent blowout over the turf course this week.</p>
<p><b>DIRT MILE</b> – Good luck beating CATALINA CRUISER and CITY OF LIGHT, as the Dirt Mile returns to being a true mile race, run around one turn, the way a mile race was intended. In any major race, always beware of Dallas Stewart, who sends out SEEKING THE SOUL, fresh off an impressive victory in the one-mile Ack Ack Stakes at Churchill Downs. He is listed only at 5-1 on the morning line, and you can be sure he will be bet. Also very formidable in here is FIRENZE FIRE, who loves a one-turn mile and showed what he is capable of on his best day when he demolished his field by nine lengths in the one-mile Dwyer Stakes, run in a blazing 1:33 3/5. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for a longshot, even though SEVEN TRUMPETS and ISOTHERM are in good form. The latter’s third-place finish behind Accelerate and West Coast in the Awesome Again Stakes either makes him look great or makes them look bad, as he hadn’t won a race in 19 months and that was on the grass. Yet he was right there battling with them inside the eighth pole. We also have classy horses like BRAVAZO, GIANT EXPECTIONS, and TRIGGER WARNIG to consider for longshots. But I am going with the hard-hitting <b>AWESOME SLEW</b> at 15-1, who is coming off a so-so fifth in the Ack Ack. But with that race having slow fractions, he was closer to the pace than he likes and was only beaten 2 1/4 lengths. If Catalina Cruiser and City of Light hook up early, this guy thrives on fast early fractions and he’s been in the money in three of his four starts at Churchill Downs, winning last year’s Ack Ack Stakes. He also managed to rally for third in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at 14-1. He’s been second in seven-furlong stakes to Drefong, Mind Your Biscuits, and Limousine Liberal, and also to the blazingly fast Army Mule. He defeated the classy A P Indian in the Commonwealth at Keeneland, so he does have his day on occasion and has competed against top-class company his entire career. It’s a tall order in here, but at the price he’s going to be, he is worth a shot, at least to fill out the exotics.</p>
<p><b>FILLY AND MARE TURF</b> – All you have to do is beat five Chad Brown horses, headed by the consistent and classy SISTERCHARLIE and her arch rival FOURSTAR CROOK. With Brown monopolizing the U.S. forces, that means you have to look for a European, and there are plenty to choose from, led by group 1 Prix de l’Opera and Nassau Stakes winner WILD ILLUSION, who was not on her best behavior Wednesday morning, unseating her rider after being bothered by something she saw. Also formidable is the Aidan O’Brien-trained MAGIC WAND, second in the Prix de l’Opera and second, beaten a head, in the Prix Vermeille. She has been competing in major stakes and classics all year and did manage to run away with the group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot by four lengths. If only I could see the start of the race before making a longshot pick, so I would know how <b>EZIYRA</b> is going to break from the 14 post and if she can get a good position without losing a ton of ground. This Dermot Weld-trained filly is ultra consistent, finishing in the money in all 11 of her races, and she looked good winning the group 2 Blandford Stakes last time out, and defeated colts in back-to-back group 3 stakes at Leopardstown this past August and September of last year. She has had only three starts this year, is fresh, and at the top of her game. And she gets Frankie Dettori, so if anyone can get her in position early it is Dettori. What I also like about her is that she is a group winner at seven furlongs and a mile and a half and has finished third to both Enable and Sea of Class in the Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks, respectively. The other longshot who can make her presence felt at 20-1 is the Joe Sharp-trained <b>MOM’S ON STRIKE</b>, who never runs a bad race and is just now finding herself. And she gets blinkers on after making a monster move from 10th to first at Kentucky Downs only to get nailed at the wire. Three races back she rallied from 28 lengths back to get beat two lengths by Fourstar Crook in the grade 2 New York Stakes at Belmont and easily won the grade 3 Bewitch Stakes at Keeneland the race before that. She is two-for-two on soft or yielding ground and has a win and a second in her two starts at Churchill Downs. That’s not a bad resume for a 20-1 shot. So although it’s going to be tough to crack the walls of the Chad Brown fortress and also knock off Wild Illusion and Magic Wand, I’ll take a shot that Eziyra and Dettori can overcome the 14 post and also look for Mom’s on Strike to be flying at the finish.</p>
<p><b>SPRINT</b> – This is not a race for longshots, with IMPERIAL HINT, ROY H., PROMISES FULFILLED, and WHITMORE in there. I do like Whitmore breaking from the rail, as he can now take back, let the others do all the dirty work up front and then come rallying up the inside late, as he did when he beat City of Light and Limousine Liberal in the Forego Stakes. There is no reason why Roy H. won’t run another big race, and Imperial Hint and Promises Fulfilled have been brilliant, each winning their last three starts. But if there is any hope of getting at least a bit of an overlay, how can you ignore <b>LIMOUSINE LIBERAL</b>, who I feel was best in the Phoenix Stakes last time out after getting stopped in the stretch and having to alter course twice before getting beat a half-length by Promises Fulfilled at Whitmore. This horse never runs a bad race, and although he is probably better at seven furlongs than six, he has won six of his eight starts at Churchill Downs, with a second. He is at least worth putting the exacta with the four favorites.</p>
<p><b>MILE </b>– This is anyone’s race, with no Goldikovas, Wise Dans, Miesques, Lures, or Da Hosses in the field. Normally you would think OSCAR PERFORMANCE can run these horses off their feet, but the worst race he ever ran was at Churchill Downs over a good course that was on the deepish side. For what it’s worth he did win the Pilgrim Stakes at 2 by six lengths over yielding ground. There will be a lot of support for the Freddie Head-trained POLYDREAM, who had a disastrous trip in the Prix de la Foret, in which she was stopped cold in traffic, losing all chance. Prior to that she beat the colts in the group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and group 3 Prix du Palais Royal. The winner of the Foret, ONE MASTER, is very consistent and loves soft ground. He is 12-1 on the morning line, partly no doubt because he was 47-1 in the Foret. Also heavily supported will be the Michael Stoute-trained EXPERT EYE, coming off four straight huge efforts in top-class races, including placings in the group 1 Sussex Stakes and Prix du Moulin. The question with him is how he will handle the soft ground. Aidan O’Brien has the filly I CAN FLY, coming off a stunning neck defeat to Roaring Lion in the group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at 33-1. I don’t know where that performance came from but it was on soft ground. Looking at the disadvantageous outside posts you have the Sussex Stakes winner LIGHTNING SPEAR, who has been disappointing in his last two, in post 11; the hard-knocking Aidan O’Brien colt GUSTAV KLIMT in post 13; and Shadwell’s multiple group 2 winner MUSTASHRY in post 14. Of the Americans, ANALYZE IT, trained by Chad Brown, breaks from post 12 and will have to show speed from there. CATAPULT, coming off wins in the grade 2 Del Mar Mile and Eddie Read Stakes, breaks from post 10 for John Sadler. Formerly trained by Chad Brown, he has run well enough on soft ground. Brown also has the Arlington Million runnerup ALMANAAR shortening up to a mile, and finally there is NEXT SHARES, the upset winner of the Shadwell Turf Mile. The longshot I am leaning towards is the Aidan O’Brien-trained filly <b>HAPPILY</b>, coming off a head defeat to the classy Laurens in the group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes. Although winless this year, she was beaten a half-length in the French Oaks, and was third in the English and Irish 1,000 Guineas. She is undefeated on soft ground, with two of her three victories coming in group 1 stakes. The daughter of Galileo just might be rounding into top form and should love the soft going.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
<p><b>DISTAFF</b> – Can ABEL TASMAN rebound off her last start? Is MONOMOY GIRL still in the same for she was earlier this year after giving away the Cotillion Stakes by uncharacteristically meandering all over the track in the stretch? Is MIDNIGHT BISOU as effective at 1 1/8 miles as she is at 1 1/16 miles, as she is still looking for her first victory beyond eight and a half furlongs? Can BLUE PRIZE move up against better fillies and can she keep a straight course this time after nearly blowing the Spinster Stakes? Is WOW CAT in this class after beating a subpar field in the Beldame Stakes? Was it the addition of blinkers that enabled VALE DORI to win the Zenyatta Stakes at 11-1? Is LA FORCE finally ready to put it all together after her narrow defeat in the Zenyatta and chasing Unique Bella in the Clement Hirsch and Beholder Mile? Yes, there are questions galore. So, now to look for some value. Can I actually make a case for a filly was beaten 30 lengths in her last two starts? <b>WONDER GODOT</b> never ran a lick in the Travers Stakes and was beaten more than 10 lengths by Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou in the Cotillion. So what’s to like? This filly has had a grueling campaign, running 10 times, all stakes, at seven different racetracks. And she has only been out of the money once. She has been beaten four times by a half-length or less, and once by three-quarters of a length, including a game half-length defeat to Monomoy Girl in the Kentucky Oaks. She trounced the boys by 4 3/4 lengths in the Queens Plate and then took the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, winning the Prince of Wales in the slop by nearly six lengths. Following 15 races in 13 months with no break, she has had a six-week “freshening” and has been literally jumping all over the track in the morning. I don’t know whether she’s good enough to beat these fillies, but she has beaten colts twice and almost beat Monomoy Girl, and despite her long campaign, she could be ready for a huge effort. At 15-1, it may be worth taking a shot. Watch out for <b>WOW CAT</b>. Yes, she beat a weak field in the Beldame, but she's always had superstar potential, needed her first start in the U.S. and visually looked terrific in the Beldame. She looks to be the overlay in here.</p>
<p><b>TURF </b>– If you have watched ENABLE in the morning, especially on Wednesday, you might be inclined to pass this race and just watch and enjoy. This amazing filly is all class and all swagger, and is just a joy to watch. She is everything you look for in a racehorse and was pure poetry galloping this morning. If you do want to take a shot and try to beat her, there is always the Andre Fabre-trained WALDGEIST, fourth in the Arc de Triomphe, beaten 1 3/4 lengths after encountering traffic for a good portion of the stretch run. And we know how dangerous Fabre is. Just look at last year’s winner TALISMANIC, who is back again. Waldgeist and Talismanic, like Enable, handle all types of ground and don’t mind it soft. Then there is this year’s possible version of Found, as Aidan O’Brien tries for the upset with MAGICAL, coming off a victory in the group 1 Champions Filly race at Ascot. Although 10th in the Arc, she was beaten only 5 1/4 lengths after rallying from far back with an outside run. Magical has a long way to go to emulate Found, but you always have to respect an O’Brien horse who is coming off a big effort. So, no doubt the Europeans are going to be tough, especially with the absence of a true American star. We even have a group 1 winner from Brazil in QUARTETO DE CORDAS and another O’Brien runner in HUNTING HORN. So does an American have any chance at all? None of our horses can match the closing power of Enable and Waldgeist, and even Talismanic on his best day. But there is a way of possibly beating them. Take advantage of the projected soft going and eliminate their explosive kick by controlling the pace and keep it fast enough for them to try to keep up. Soft ground can at times take away from a horse’s turn of foot, and if you’re an American horse you have to use your main weapon – speed. CHANNEL MAKER and GLORIOUS EMPIRE, each listed at 12-1, are both capable of skipping over a soft course and wiring their field. It’s just a question of which one tries and outruns the other. Of the American closers, I’m not sure Arlington Million winner ROBERT BRUCE wants a mile and a half and SADLER’S JOY hasn’t won anything lately and is more of an exotics type. I’m not sure if ARKLOW is classy enough to handle these horses and LIAM THE CHARMER has never run on a soft or yielding course. If you are looking for a real bomb, <b>HI HAPPY</b> is another who is capable of running horses off their feet. This is a four-time group 1 winner in Argentina on grass and dirt. He stalked the early pace when he won the Pan American and Man o’ War Stakes and battled for the lead in the Manhattan before getting beat a half-length. He went off form at Saratoga but bounced back with a strong second in the Knickerbocker after going wide into the first turn and getting beat a neck. If Channel Maker and Glorious Empire try to slow the pace down to a crawl or don’t want the lead at all I would take the initiative with Hi Happy and just try to steal it. With Enable, Waldgeist and Talismanic all waiting to pounce, there is nothing to lose. So, how about a win bet on Hi Happy at huge odds and play him in the exactas and trifectas. Also check the odds on <b>Channel Maker</b> and <b>Glorious Empire</b>. If you feel they are high enough, you can put something on them in case either one of them winds up on the lead controlling the pace. Heck, just bet all three. Whichever one of these horses can establish a clear lead will be tough to catch on the soft going. Hi Happy also is an excellent stalker and as long as he can put distance between himself and the Euros, even sitting off another horse, he looks to be the biggest bang for your buck at huge odds. </p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=649008" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cup DistaffBreeders' CupBreeders' Cup MileBreeders' Cup Dirt MileBreeders' Cup Filly &amp; Mare SprintBreeders' Cup SprintBreeders' Cup Turf SprintBreeders' Cup FIlly and Mare TurfBreeders' Cup TurfAnalysis of Friday's Breeders' Cup Raceshttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/31/analysis-of-friday-s-breeders-cup-races.aspxWed, 31 Oct 2018 12:41:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:649007Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=649007http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/31/analysis-of-friday-s-breeders-cup-races.aspx#comments<p>The analysis of Friday’s and Saturday’s races will touch on favorites and longshots, but the emphasis is on value, so I’ll be looking mainly for price horses who could be worth a straight win bet. I will have an analysis of Friday’s card on today, followed by Saturday’s card excluding the Classic, and then the Classic. Any updates in the first two analyses will be included in the subsequent column; or if I see anything in the morning training over the next couple of days that changes my opinion.&nbsp; </p>
<p><b>JUVENILE TURF SPRINT</b> – This race is purely a guess, with seven of the 12 starters Europeans and four of the five American horses trained by Wesley Ward, all of whom competed at Royal Ascot. What is amazing is how Ward managed to get all four of his horses in the starting field with 28 horses pre-entered, and all of them drawing well in posts 4, 6, 7, and 9. The only one who ran well at Ascot is SHANG SHAN SHANG, who won the group 2 Norfolk Stakes against the boys, but hasn’t run since. The other three, CHELSEA CLOISTERS, STILLWATER COVE, and MOONLIGHT ROMANCE have bounced back and are in excellent form. The classiest of the Europeans are SOLDIER’S CALL, winner of three major stakes and third, beaten a head last out in the group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye on Arc day against older horses, and the Aidan O’Brien-trained SO PERFECT, who has run big in all six of her starts, including a victory in the group 3 Balanchine Stakes at the Curragh and a narrow defeat in the group 1 Phoenix Stakes. But she may be compromised by the 10 post. O’Brien also sends out SERGEI PROKOFIEV, brilliant early in the year at Navan and Naas and then winning the group 3 Cornwallis Stakes at Newmarket last time out.&nbsp; Of Ward’s horses, Stillwater Cove beat Chelsea Cloisters in the Bolton Landing Stakes at Saratoga, but failed to stretch out to a mile in the grade 1 Natalma Stakes, tiring to finish fifth. She should appreciate dropping back to 5 1/2 furlongs and her style of running seems to fit well here. The big question mark is BULLETIN, who made his debut in a stakes race at Gulfstream and romped to a seven-length victory. It’s just a question whether he’s seasoned enough to take on these horses. He is certainly fast enough. If you feel compelled to bet this race, it would be wise to bet minimally. Soldier’s Call has to be the horse to beat running such a bang-up race against older horses, but you can never count out a Wesley Ward 2-year-old filly sprinting against the boys. Good luck separating his bunch. But looking for decent price I like the cutback angle of <b>STILLWATER COVE</b>, who should be able lay off the pace and make a late run. And she gets Irad Ortiz back, who won the Bolton Landing on her.<br></p>
<p><b>JUVENILE FILLIES TURF</b> – This race is always wide open. The unbeaten Frankel Filly EAST, who beat colts in the group 3 Prix Thomas Bryon, drew post 14, so that should compromise her. The Aidan O’Brien-trained JUST WONDERFUL is coming off a stylish victory in the group 2 Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket and looks interesting in here. Another tough European is LILY’S CANDLE, coming off a victory in the group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac. Making her second start in North America is LA PELOSA, who rallied in the final furlong to win the grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woobine. The Euros are very deep in here, with THE MACKEM BULLET coming off big efforts in three group races, inclusing a neck defeat in the group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket last time out. All four Euros, however, appear to prefer firm ground, which they will not get. The Americans are well represented, headed by unbeaten NEWSPAPEROFRECORD, trained by Chad Brown, who has won both her starts by huge margins, including a 6 1/2-length romp in the Miss Grillo Stakes. She loves yielding going and no doubt will get that on Friday. Another filly undefeated in two starts is Jessamine Stakes winner CONCRETE ROSE. It looks tough separating both those fillies. California will be represented by LADY PRANCEALOT, who came here from Europe and ran two bang-up seconds in listed stakes at Del Mar and Santa Anita, and SIMMERING, who is two-for-three, including a victory over Lady Prancealot at Del Mar before finishing behind her in the Surfer Girl Stakes last time. Coming from Canada in excellent form is MY GAL BETTY, winner of three of her four starts with a strong second in the Natalma. She seems to love the yielding ground, but post 13 will not help her. My longshot selection is <b>BELLE LAURA</b>, who finally drew a halfway decent post after drawing post 9 of 9, then 9 of 10, and finally 13 of 13 in the Jessamine Stakes. Yet she closed from the clouds to finish a strong third. She will break from post 8 this time; still not great, but it puts her in a far better position. Her maiden victory at Churchill Downs was a very powerful effort. If she can handle the expected soft to yielding ground she could be right there at a huge price.</p>
<p><b>JUVENILE FILLIES</b> – Good luck separating the top five fillies in here. BELLAFINA, JAYWALK, SIPPICAN HARBOR, SERENGETI EMPRESS, RESTLESS RIDER are all brilliant, top-class fillies and each one is a likely Eclipse winner with a victory. Four of these fillies are impressive group 1 winners and the other, Serengeti Empress, won a group 2 by 19 1/2 lengths at Churchill Downs and a listed stakes by 13 1/2 lengths. The likely favorite, Bellafina, has to make sure she doesn’t get caught too wide breaking from post 10, as she likes to be on or right off the pace. She definitely will outrun the two horses directly inside her, but with Jaywalk, Serengeti Empress, and VIBRANCE all having good speed, she could be four-wide going into the turn. If the pace is hot or even contentious, Spinaway winner Sippican Harbor should be flying late. But we really don’t know what her running style is, and she broke her maiden by 17 lengths on the front end, then was squeezed back at the start of the Spinaway and made a dramatic late run from far back to win going away. Restless Rider is two-for-two at Churchill Downs, including an 11 1/4-length romp in the Debutante Stakes, has a two-turn race under her belt after winning the Alcibiades at Keeneland, and has the right running style, sitting right behind the speed. Trainer Kenny McPeek is always dangerous in Kentucky, and she might be the value horse in what promises to be a real barn burner. Sippican Harbor looks a bit high at 12-1 considering her unlimited potential. If you’re looking for a good hit and want to try to beat Bellafina, as well as Jaywalk and Serengeti Empress, an exacta box of <b>RESTLESS RIDER</b> and <b>SIPPICAN HARBOR</b> should pay a decent price.</p>
<p><b>JUVENILE TURF</b> – This race does not looks as strong as the Juvenile Filly Turf, and, believe it or not, there is not a single Chad Brown horse in the field. The Euros are not as deep or as strong, and no one really stands out to me. Two of the leading contenders, CURRENT, from the Todd Pletcher barn, and the Aidan O’Brien-trained ANTHONY VAN DYCK, drew posts 12 and 14, respectively, so they will have to overcome that and try to work out a good trip. Godolphin’s LINE OF DUTY is a dangerous horse after winning the group 3 Prix du Conde at Deauville, and the son of Galileo has never been worse than second in four career starts. His 10-1 odds seem pretty high in this field and he should not be ignored. With a mile and an eighth race already under his belt, he has a great foundation under him, is all class, and will take a lot beating. The American horse I like is only listed at 5-1, which makes it difficult to find a bomb in here. That is<b> FORTY UNDER</b>, who displayed great professionalism and patience, waiting for room and then finally extricating himself from traffic and pouring it on in the stretch to win the Pilgrim Stakes, running down the With Anticipation Stakes runnerup SOMELIKEITHOTBROWN, who had opened a two-length lead at the eighth pole. And he did it over the yielding ground he likely will encounter on Friday. There is a 30-1 shot who bears watching. <b>THE BLACK ALBUM</b> began his career in the French provinces, winning twice and finishing third in his career debut. He was then sent to Deauville, where he was fourth in the Prix Francois Boutin at seven furlongs before heading to Longchamp, where he upset the seven-furlong Prix la Rochette at 16-1. He was challenged in the final furlong but hung on tenaciously to win by a nose. This is another big step up in class, but for 30-1 he does have some upside and is improving, and could continue to improve stretching out to a mile. That is your longshot special. As for Forty Under, he should be included in all exotics, but likely will be too low to bet straight win, at least for those looking for a price. But there is a lot to like about him.<br></p>
<p><b>JUVENILE </b>– It’s going to be tough beating grade 1 winners GAME WINNER and COMPLEXITY, representing East and West. I ranked the Juvenile horses as potential Kentucky Derby prospects in a recent column and ranked CODE OF HONOR No. 1 and DUELING No. 3. Not only do both these colts look to be classic material, they have a pretty good shot to win the Juvenile or at least be right there. Code of Honor is trained by Shug McGaughey and he definitely will be bet, and definitely can upset the two favorites. But Dueling is listed at a generous 20-1. On paper, he has catching up to do if he is going to compete with these horses, but, visually, I loved what I saw in his maiden victory at Santa Anita, and that was reaffirmed watching him gallop over the Churchill Downs surface, which he seemed to relish. He has a very fluid way of moving and just has a look of class about him. Of course, he’ll also have to contend with major stakes winners KNICKS GO and MIND CONTROL. I would also consider SIGNALMAN as a legitimate longshot after his troubled second in the Breeders’ Futurity, getting bumped pretty soundly, losing his action briefly, and shrugging it off, but post 14 is a bit troublesome. The other longshot I like is the Chad Brown-trained STANDARD DEVIATION, who I also had ranked pretty high as a Derby horse. After an impressive off-the-turf maiden victory going seven furlongs at Saratoga in his career debut, he drew post 13 in the Breeders’ Futurity and dropped way out of it before putting in a sustained rally to finish third in an excellent performance. He looks to be a live horse in the exotics. So my two longshots in here are <b>DUELING</b> and <b>STANDARD DEVIATION</b>, the latter a lesser price at 12-1, if not to win then to hit the board. But for my true longshot special for win and in the exotics, it has to be Dueling.<br></p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=649007" width="1" height="1">Breeders' CupjuvenileJuvenile Fillies TurfBreeders' Cup FridayJuvenile FilliesJuvenile TurfJuvenile Turf SprintBreeders' Cup: Always Room For Improvementhttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/28/Breeders_1920_-Cup_3A00_-Always-Room-For-Improvement.aspxSun, 28 Oct 2018 22:44:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:649005Michelle Benson0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=649005http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/28/Breeders_1920_-Cup_3A00_-Always-Room-For-Improvement.aspx#comments<p>The Breeders’ Cup is always looking to make changes in order to improve the event. It started back when the Filly and Mare Turf was added. Some of the changes since have been good and some bad. For years, I have been an advocate for an all juvenile day on Friday, promoting it by saying, “Come see next year’s Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks horses.” So, I was thrilled to see Breeders’ Cup make the change.<br><br>We have seen the additions of the Juvenile Sprint, the Marathon, the Filly and Mare Sprint, the Dirt Mile, the Juvenile Turf, the Juvenile Fillies Turf, the Turf Sprint, and the Juvenile Turf Sprint, with some of those eliminated quickly after they were deemed unsuccessful. They even had the ill-conceived idea to change the name of the Distaff to the Ladies Classic. No one bought it and most still called it the Distaff. One Classic was enough. Good move returning it to the Distaff.<br><br>The elimination of the Marathon and changing it to a non Breeders’ Cup race was a bit premature in my opinion, as we had some thrilling and memorable runnings. Does anyone remember the joyous frenzy when Calidoscopio roared home for Argentina in 2012 at the age of 9 to become an instant cult hero. There was the dramatic story behind Eldaafer in 2010 and the aftermath that saw jockeys Calvin Borel and Javier Castellano nearly come to blows in plain view. And there was the thrilling finish between European 3-year-old Man of Iron and the old warrior Cloudy’s Knight in 2009. But after six runnings the Marathon was gone as a Breeders’ Cup race.<br><br>I just read an article on Horse Racing Nation about Bobby Flay suggesting in an interview with Jim Rome a Breeders’ Cup Derby, reuniting the Triple Crown horses and giving them a place to decide the 3-year-old championship. <br><br>“I thought it would be a really good way to showcase all the 3-year-olds that were running in all the Triple Crown races through the year being marketed in the very best way on NBC,” Flay said. “The public at large will actually know those horses’ names when we get to the Breeders’ Cup and let the 3-year-old division get settled in the Breeders’ Cup Derby.”<br><br>There is nothing wrong with thinking out of the box, but that was way too far out of the box, and thank goodness the Breeders’ Cup rejected it. Imagine the Breeders’ Cup Classic without the top 3-year-olds and stars of the Triple Crown. When you start diluting the Classic you’re cheapening the Breeders’ Cup. How would you determine a true Horse of the Year when you’re risking eliminating horses like American Pharoah, Sunday Silence, A.P. Indy, and Curlin from the Classic? Just to name a few.<br><br>The key to improving the Breeders’ Cup in my opinion is not to add or eliminate any races. In fact, it has nothing at all to do with the Breeders’ Cup. It has to do with the Eclipse Awards.<br><br>Many people complain that we don’t see those brilliant fillies anymore in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. By adding the Filly and Mare Sprint, we no longer get to see fillies like Sprint winners Safely Kept, Very Subtle, and Desert Stormer and runnersup Xtra Heat, Honest Lady, Pine Tree Lane and Meafara, who placed in the race twice. Even Safely Kept finished second before winning the following year.<br><br>I like having the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in order to give the filly and mare sprinters a place to show off their talents. But how do you get those special filly and mare sprinters who can run like the wind and compete with any colt to run in the Sprint and determine just who is the champion sprinter? It’s simple. Keep the Filly and Mare Sprint, but eliminate the Eclipse Award for Female Sprinter. With a championship at stake you should see a number of blazing fast fillies and mares choose to take on the boys in the Sprint in order to win an Eclipse Award. For the rest of the fillies and mares, winning a Breeders’ Cup race should be enough. We never had a Female Sprinter award before. Yet we had several female champion sprinters, such as Ta Wee (twice), Safely Kept, Gold Beauty, What a Summer, My Juliet, and Affectionately. They were all special and we should save the special ones for an Eclipse Award. Any filly is free to go in the Sprint if they wish to pursue a championship. <br><br>I realize the Breeders’ Cup equates their races with championships, and it’s not fair to the filly and mare sprinters as a whole, but is there a championship for those who run in the Dirt Mile? Or the Turf Sprint? Or the Juvenile Turf Sprint? Was there ever a champion Marathoner? There is nothing wrong with winning the Filly and Mare Sprint without having to have an Eclipse Award attached to it. Eliminate the Eclipse Award and you’ll see those female six-furlong speed burners choose to stay at their best distance and take on the boys instead of having to stretch out to seven furlongs.<br><br>The other change I would make is to add an Eclipse Award for Champion Miler, like they have in Europe. Let it be up for grabs between the grass milers and dirt milers. I would even be OK with a champion Dirt Miler and Grass Miler. Why should grass milers Miesque, Goldikova, Lure, Wise Dan, and Da Hoss have to compete with mile and a half horses Manila, Theatrical, Better Talk Now, and English Channel for an Eclipse Award?<br><br>If a true Dirt Miler had an Eclipse Award to strive for you probably wouldn’t see so many horses cross entered in the Dirt Mile, Sprint, and Classic, looking for a home, and you wouldn’t see horses better suited for a mile running in the Classic. Why deprive brilliant horses like Goldencents and Liam’s Map a shot at an Eclipse Award? <br><br>If there had been a Dirt Mile before 2007, and there was an Eclipse Award for champion miler, perhaps we would have seen horses like Hard Spun, Lawyer Ron, Congaree, Sun King, Came Home, Old Trieste, Gulch, Track Barron, and Macho Uno and others more suited to a mile and a mile and an eighth compete there instead of stretching a bit beyond their limit in the Classic. Eclipse Awards are a big deal for owners and trainers and the thought of winning one could very easily persuade an owner and trainer to point for the Dirt Mile instead of the Classic, where many horses don’t belong. Let’s be honest, how many people can name more than a small percentage of the Dirt Mile winners? Attach an Eclipse Award to it and you’ll remember most of them.<br><br>I’m sure some will disagree with these ideas, but that’s what change entails -- coming up with new ideas to be bantered about back and forth. Agreeing and disagreeing. It is hoped some new ideas, whether these or others, click and you have improvements made, such as the Filly and Mare Turf, the Juvenile Turf races, and Future Stars Friday. Heck, it doesn’t hurt talking about it. I disagreed with Bobby Flay’s idea, but better to disagree than have nothing to agree or disagree about and just remain stagnant.<br></p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=649005" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cuphangin with haskinA Lot at Stake For Acceleratehttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/26/a-lot-at-stake-for-accelerate.aspxFri, 26 Oct 2018 15:53:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:649003emorgan0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=649003http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/26/a-lot-at-stake-for-accelerate.aspx#comments<p>Accelerate's connections are just focusing for now on
winning the Breeders' Cup Classic. But the truth is the 5-year-old is embroiled
in a hot rivalry with a horse he has never faced and never will. We are all
aware, especially judging by the weekly NTRA poll, that a victory by Accelerate
in the Breeders' Cup Classic could actually snatch Horse of the Year honors
away from Justify, who would become the only Triple Crown winner not to be named Horse of the Year since championships
were inaugurated in 1936. </p>
<p>This time it would be up to the voters to decide without the
benefit of a showdown between the two horses. If Accelerate wins the Classic,
and wins it impressively, it is possible that Justify would become the first
Triple Crown winner to lose Horse of the Year honors and to a horse he never faced.</p>
<p>This could turn into a vote that actually has little to do
with accomplishments on the racetrack. It could come down to voters refusing to
reward Justify (actually his connections) for retiring him after the Belmont
Stakes after a whirlwind six-race romance that ended abruptly with racing fans
and media members feeling like they were jilted. Many believe the ankle filling
and failure to respond explanation for his retirement was nothing more than a
smoke screen to hide the real reason for his retirement - his enormous value as
a stallion combined with a fear of him losing and detracting from his value.
There is no way anyone other than Justify's connections could know the truth.</p>
<p>But the NTRA poll shows that some people may believe that. Each
horse no doubt will have his supporters when it is time to vote for Horse of
the Year, but to demonstrate that there are those who may resent Justify's
retirement and hold it against him, just look at the voting on the latest NTRA
poll. Although Accelerate leads the poll 340 points to 310, Justify has more
first-place votes, 25 to 11. That is a huge difference. Just about everyone who
voted for Justify first had Accelerate second. However, four voters who went
for Accelerate first did not even have Justify in the Top 10, and one voter had
him fifth, which accounted for Accelerate securing the top spot on total
points.&nbsp; </p>
<p>It also is possible
that in voting in the poll, some voters prefer to only consider active horses.
After all, Gun Runner slowly dropped from the poll after he was retired
following his early 2018 Pegasus World Cup Invitational win. In considering
Eclipse Award votes, these voters may come back and consider all horses who
have raced in 2018. As far as the poll goes it all depends on how each voter interprets it and how he or she assesses the horses they place on it. </p>
<p>Still, if bitterness over Justify's early retirement is the
reason he may
lose Horse of the Year, it would not be fair to the
horse, who rewrote more pages in the history books in 112 days than anyone
before him. If the feeling is that Accelerate was more deserving because he won
at the highest level all year and beat the best dirt horses in the world in the
Breeders' Cup Classic, that is a different story. What we have now is an
indication of what is to come. That is why a victory by Accelerate on Nov. 3
would set off one of the most hotly debated Horse of the Year battles of all
time. And with social media, it could get ugly. Just go back and look at all
the daggers thrown when Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra slugged it out for Horse
of the Year without ever facing each other.&nbsp;
</p><p>Unlike Secretariat, Justify's value as a stallion has not
yet been established, and one would imagine it's a tough decision weighing the
good of racing on one hand against the high risks of racing on the other hand.</p>
<p>But no matter how you look at it, what makes this
unprecedented battle for supremacy so profound is that both horses in their own
way are fighting for so much more than just Horse of the Year honors. They are
fighting for tradition vs. change; for longevity and dancing every dance vs. a
quick fix and rapid exit; for earnings on the racetrack vs. earnings in the
breeding shed; for racing the way it was vs. racing the way it may be in the future.
Will horses like Accelerate, California Chrome, Gun Runner, and Animal Kingdom
who race into or through their 5-year-old campaign prevail over the horses
whisked away to stud as 3-year-olds for fear of being devalued by a defeat?&nbsp; It will all come to the fore with a victory
by Accelerate and the battle that will ensue for Horse of the Year.</p>
<p>Now if Justify's trainer Bob Baffert should help his star's
cause by winning the Classic with McKinzie or West Coast, or if someone else
should knock off Accelerate, then we will quote Emily Litella and simply say,
"Never Mind."&nbsp; </p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=649003" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cup ClassicWest CoastJustifyAccelerateMcKinzieIs the Derby Winner in This Year's Juvenile?http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/24/is-the-derby-winner-in-this-year-s-juvenile.aspxWed, 24 Oct 2018 20:09:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:649000Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=649000http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/24/is-the-derby-winner-in-this-year-s-juvenile.aspx#comments<p>All it takes is a look at the list of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winners to know that the Juvenile and the Kentucky Derby are worlds apart. Not only does winning the biggest race for 2-year-olds have no bearing on what a horse does on the first Saturday in May, history tells us you’re better off eliminating the Juvenile winner from Derby consideration.</p>
<p>So, why even mention it and devote an entire column to trying to find a potential Derby winner from this year’s field? Because the belief here is that this is equivalent to heads and tails. Just because it comes up heads 10 times in a row doesn’t mean it is due to come up tails the next time. No matter how many times it comes up heads, it is still 50-50 on the next flip. So, unless someone can come up with a concrete reason why a victory in the Juvenile means you cannot win the Derby, I am going to assume that there is a possibility we will see next year’s Derby winner at Churchill Downs on November 2.</p>
<p>The first question to ask is why does the Juvenile have such a bad record producing a Derby winner? Well, considering that many of the race’s classy winners, such as Texas Red, New Year’s Day, Uncle Mo, Midshipman, War Pass, Stevie Wonderboy, and Vindication never made it to Churchill Downs for one physical reason or another, you can’t take a lot of stock in that. Also, of the three Juvenile winners in the past three years who did make the Derby, Nyquist won, Good Magic was second, and Classic Empire ran a big race following a victory in the Arkansas Derby, despite having several interruptions in his training at 3. And Street Sense did become the first Juvenile winner ever to win the Derby in 2007. So, in the past 11 years, no Juvenile winner actually made it to the Derby and ran a poor race with the exception of Hansen, who simply was not a mile and a quarter horse.</p>
<p>With all that said, here is a rundown of horses pre-entered in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile who could join Street Sense, Nyquist, Good Magic, and Classic Empire as major factors in the Kentucky Derby, based on pedigree and performance, mostly visually, as statistics do not always reveal what a brilliant 2-year-old will do going a mile and a quarter at 3.</p>
<p>1—<b>CODE OF HONOR</b> – Perfect blend of dirt, grass, speed, and stamina. I was impressed that a Shug McGauhey-trained colt won first time out at Saratoga going six furlongs. He won in workmanlike fashion, but visually did it the right way. The usually conservative McGaughey threw him right into the grade 1 Champagne Stakes and he appeared to lose all chance when he stumbled twice coming out of the gate. After winning his debut wire to wire he was now forced to come from dead last in the 10-horse field. He swung out nearing the top of the stretch and closed well to finish second to the pacesetting Complexity, on whom Chad Brown is extremely high. Although the brilliant filly Jaywalk ran a tick faster the following day in the Frizette Stakes, the Champagne time of 1:34 3/5 was one of the fastest ever, and Code of Honor’s Beyer speed figure in defeat was five points higher than Jaywalk. To demonstrate how you can turn him on and off, he breezed a slow five furlongs in 1:03 for the Champagne a week after breezing a half in a bullet :46 flat, fastest of 60 works at the distance, and, again, you normally don’t see a McGaughey 2-year-old work that fast. He goes from Eric Cancel back to John Velazquez, and the latter is not a bad jockey to latch onto early. His sire, the English-bred Noble Mission, is a son of the great Galileo and a full-brother to Frankel, and his two paternal grandsires, Sadler’s Wells and Danehill are greatly responsible for the Coolmore dynasty. Sadler’s Wells, his son Galileo, and Danehill have sired an amazing 1,000 stakes winners among them, including over 230 group/grade 1 winners. Code of Honor’s broodmare sire, Dixie Union was a grade 1 winner who sired Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags. Code of Honor gets his speed from his dam’s female family through Mt. Livermore, Bold Forbes, Irish Castle, and Bolinas Boy. In summation, this looks like a classic-type horse in all departments, and all he has to do is be closing fast in the stretch in the Juvenile to stamp him as a legitimate Derby prospect.</p>
<p>2—<b>GAME WINNER</b> – You cannot fault him in any way, as he is undefeated with two grade 1 victories, his speed figures are climbing with every start, he is trained by Triple Crown guru Bob Baffert, and he is by Candy Ride, out of an A.P. Indy mare. He consistently works fast, even for a Baffert horse, and has won pressing the pace, stalking the pace, and coming from five lengths back. And he’s pulled away from his opponents in the final furlong in all three of his starts. Candy Ride, a track record holder at 1 1/4 miles, is from the highly successful Fappiano sire line. Game Winner’s female family has a number of very fast horses who could carry their speed long distances, such as Seattle Slew, Indian Charlie, In Excess, and Afleet. His second dam, Fleet Indian, won the grade 1 Personal Ensign and Beldame Stakes and the grade 2 Delaware Handicap at 1 1/4 miles, and was the champion older mare of 2006. He is the latest revved up sports car to come off the Bob Baffert assembly line, all of whom have been able to go a long way on a single tank of gas. How do you follow the likes of American Pharoah, Arrogate, Justify, West Coast, Mastery, McKinzie, and Dortmund? We keep asking that question every year, and every year they keep zooming off the conveyor belt. But sometimes it is the ones at the back of that conveyor belt that turn out to have the best engine, so also keep an eye on names such as Roadster, Much Better, Magic On Tap, and Tale of the Union. But for now it is all about Game Winner.</p>
<p>3—<b>DUELING </b>– He may not be ready to take on some of top choices in here, but watch out for this impressive-looking colt later on. In his first two starts he was second to Rowayton going five furlongs and then second to Game Winner going six furlongs. Both those colts went on to finish one-two in the grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and one-three in the grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes. Stretching out to a mile, he settled about four to five lengths off the pace and then displayed a powerful turn of foot on the far turn to sweep to the lead on the far outside. He switched leads on cue and easily drew off on his own to score by almost three lengths. Although his time was a modest 1:38 2/5, his final quarter of :25 2/5 was decent enough, and it is important to note that the following day Accelerate won the 1 1/8-mile Awesome Again Stakes in an equally modest 1:50 1/5, 15 Beyer points lower than his previous start. So the track obviously was on the deep side that weekend. Jerry Hollendorfer is not the type to put a horse in a spot like this if he didn’t think highly of him. He resembles his sire, Violence, one of the hottest young stallions in the country. Violence is a son of Medaglia d’Oro, so we have the Sadler’s Wells sire line once again. Dueling’s female family is extremely strong, with powerful European influences. He is a half-brother to Know More, winner of the Best Pal Stakes an second in the grade 1 Del Mar Futurity and FrontRunner Stakes. His dam is a half-sister Que Belle, winner of the German Oaks and German 2,000 Guineas. His second dam is a half-sister to European 2-year-old champion Bakharoff, winner of the group 1 William Hill Futurity and Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot and third in the French Derby and Irish Derby, and also a half-sister to Emperor Jones, winner of the Lockinge and Craven Stakes in England and placed in the Queen Anne Stakes and Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. And his third dam is a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Qui Native. His maternal grandsire and great-grandsire are Seattle Slew and Spectacular Bid. This is a good-looking colt with a smooth efficient stride who looks to have a bright future.</p>
<p>4—<b>STANDARD DEVIATION</b> – Although he has one of those uncomfortable sounding Seth Klarman names that only a stock broker can appreciate or understand, this colt appears to have a bright future at classic distances. Want a definition of Standard Deviation? “A quantity calculated to indicate the extent of deviation for a group as a whole.” Now all we need is a definition of the definition. That aside, this colt took advantage of an off-the-turf maiden race by winning impressively by 2 3/4 lengths going seven furlongs. As is the custom nowadays, he went right into the Breeders’ Futurity at 1 1/16 miles. Breaking from the disadvantageous 13 post, he found himself far back in 11th, some 10 lengths off the leisurely pace set by the victorious Knicks Go. Forced to circle his field seven-wide, he closed well to finish third, beaten a half-length for second. A $450,000 yearling purchase, he is by Curlin, out of an A.P. Indy mare, so we know there should be no problems going farther. His second dam, Classic Elegance, was a brilliant 2-year-old, winning the Schuylerville and Debutante Stakes before her career was cut short. Classic Elegance’s dam is by the classy Halo, who is a son of Hail to Reason and a half-brother to champion Tosmah. If he can overcome his non Kentucky Derby name, Brown could have a good one for next spring. He does have to improve his speed figures, but with only two starts and his pedigree, he has a lot of upside.</p>
<p>5—<b>MIND CONTROL</b> – Although he has impeccable breeding and should enjoy longer distances, I still need to see how he rates behind horses stretching out to two turns. He has battled for the lead in two of his three races and stalked the pace in his other start, all in races with fast fractions. But he has shown good steady improvement in his speed figures, and he has to be a top-quality horse to defeat a very talented colt in Mucho in the Hopeful Stakes. And Mucho is right up at the top of my list of Derby hopefuls. Mind Control has won three races at three different distances at three different racetracks in three different states, and his time of 1:22 4/5 in the Hopeful was strong. You wouldn’t think the son of Travers winner and Belmont runner-up Stay Thirsty would be this precocious, so that is saying a lot, considering he should be much better at longer distances. He no doubt gets his speed from his dam, Feel That Fire, who was a pretty good sprinter. His broodmare sire, Lightnin n Thunder, was stakes-placed at 2, but had his career cut short, so we know little about him, other than he has a strong distance pedigree. Mind Control’s second dam is by French Deputy, so you have good mile speed and plenty of toughness, while his third dam is by Private Account, out of a Danzig mare, so there is a good stamina base in his tail-female family, even going back to champion 3-year-old Key to the Mint. He was forced to miss his prep for the Juvenile, so if he comes up a little short, but runs a big race, that will be good enough to stamp him as a potential Derby horse.</p>
<p>6—<b> KNICKS GO</b> – Many will look at his 5 1/2-length wire-to-wire romp in the Breeders’ Futurity as a 70-1 fluke, but visually he looked very strong in the stretch and you never know how much a young horse is going to improve stretching out to two turns for the first time. In the Breeders’ Futurity, his Beyer speed figure jumped 30 points from his previous start, the Arlington-Washington Futurity on Polytrack, and he was getting Lasix for the first time. What I loved about his career debut at Ellis Park was not so much that he wired his field by 3 1/2 lengths in :57 4/5, but that he was sent off at 8-5 and was not the favorite, so you know he beat a good horse. He raced greenly down the stretch in that race, but has shown maturity since and was very professional coming home in the Breeders’ Futurity. We all know the amazing story behind his sire Paynter, but remember he was narrowly beaten right on the wire in the Belmont Stakes and is by one of the top classic stallions in the country, Awesome Again. And Paynter’s dam, Tizso, is a full-sister to two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow. Knicks Go’s broodmare sire, Outflanker, is a son of Danzig, out of a mare who is by Alydar, out of Lassie Dear, the granddam of classic winners A.P. Indy, Summer Squall, and Lemon Drop Kid. He just has to prove he can win coming from off the pace, as both of his victories have been on the front end and both of his losses have been from off the pace.</p>
<p>7—<b>COMPLEXITY</b> – Talent-wise, he looks to be right up there near or at the top, along with Game Winner, and his two career starts have been nothing short of brilliant, winning his debut wire-to-wire by 4 1/2 lengths in 1:09 3/5 for the six furlongs and then wiring his field in the Champagne to win by three lengths after setting fractions of :22 2/5, :45 1/5, and 1:09 2/5. So we know he’s fast and can carry his speed. And from a visual standpoint, he has a smooth, effortless way of moving that makes him appear to be going slower than he actually is. He will take a lot of beating in the Juvenile. He is not the kind of horse you want to take on early in a race if you have any hope of being there at the finish. He compliments his stablemate Standard Deviation very well and gives Chad Brown a powerful presence on the front end and off the pace. The big question with him is how far he wants to go. We know how fast his sire Maclean’s Music was, winning his only start in a spectacular 1:07 2/5, earning an outrageous 114 Beyer speed figure. But Maclean’s Music has sired a Preakness winner in Cloud Computing. Complexity’s dam is by the speed-oriented Yes It’s True, a son of speed-oriented Yes It’s True, out of a mare by the little-known Digression, who had distance limitations and wound up standing for $1,500 in Utah. Complexity’s second dam was strictly a sprinter and his third dam is by Torsion, who also was a pure sprinter. So, there is a ton of sprinting speed all through his pedigree, and we will just have to wait and see how far he can carry his speed. With his pedigree, if he remains a horse committed to the lead he will have a long way to go in proving he is Derby material. He needs to show he can rate and come home.</p>
<p>8—<b>SIGNALMAN</b> – Trainer Kenny McPeek has been very high on him from day one, and he looked as if he might have been in a bit over his head in the Breeders’ Futurity after breaking his maiden by a nose in a gutsy effort at Saratoga. Breaking from the rail in the 13-horse field, he was in tight quarters down on the inside most of the way, and then was bumped trying to get through at the top of the stretch and momentarily lost his action. But he recovered beautifully and managed to finish second, holding off the late-closing Standard Deviation. He is by Blue Grass Stakes winner General Quarters, and we know little about his sire, who wound up standing in Turkey. But General Quarters has more than enough stamina and is inbred to one of the great stamina influences Round Table. Signalman’s broodmare sire Trippi was a top-class sprinter, who did manage to win the Flamingo Stakes at 1 1/8 miles, but has been mostly a speed influence. Signalman’s maternal great-grandsire Honor Grades is a half-brother to A.P. Indy and Summer Squall. His third dam is by the Damascus stallion Cutlass, who was mostly a speed influence, but did sire Cutlass Reality who dusted Alysheba by 6 1/2 lengths in the Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles. So we have a good blend of speed and stamina and there is no reason why Signalman will not stretch out successfully.</p>
<p>9—<b>TIGHT TEN</b> – This son of Tapit was beaten at even-money in the Iroquois Stakes stretching out to two turns, but going head and head on the lead for a good portion of the race didn’t help. He was very impressive winning his career debut at Churchill Downs by 4 1/2 lengths in 1:10 4/5 and then ran well to finish second in the Saratoga Special after bobbling at the start and racing greenly down the stretch. He got bumped around at the start of the Iroquois, which obviously didn’t help, and just got nailed near the wire. He does have two good performances at Churchill and breezed a bullet five furlongs in the slop there recently, so he has that in his favor. By Tapit, out of a Distorted Humor mare, his second dam Fleet Renee win the grade 1 Mother Goose and Ashland Stakes. I love that his dam is inbred to Mr. Leader, who carries on the stamina and toughness of his sire Hail to Reason. Tight Ten also is inbred 3x4 to Seattle Slew. This is a horse who should win his share of stakes.</p>
<p>10—<b>WELL DEFINED</b> – First off, we have to find out if he is as good as he looked beating lesser competition in the In Reality Division of the Florida Stallion Series, in which he coasted home by 7 1/2 lengths, earning a solid 91 Beyer speed figure, in his first start around two turns. He is trained by the talented Katherine O’Connell, and, like some of the others, will have to show he can rate off the pace and close. His sire With Distinction is by Storm Cat, out of a mare by Alydar, out of the Phipps mare Squander. His dam is by Medaglia d’Oro. Although his second dam is by sprinter Phone Trick, his third dam is by Private Account, out of a Prince John mare, and his dam is inbred to Damascus. So there is a good blend of speed and stamina.</p>
<p>You can also make a case for <b>MR. MONEY</b>, who has an impressive victory at Churchill Downs in his two-turn debut. He has speed on top through Goldencents and Into Mischief and stamina on the bottom through Tiznow and Distorted Humor. And he is inbred to Travers and Haskell winner Forty Niner. He has the right running style and obviously likes Churchill, so we’ll see how he fares in this field moving way up in class. <b>GUNMETAL GRAY</b> is improving and ran well down the stretch to be second to Game Winner in the American Pharoah, but being by Exchange Rate, I’m not sure how far he wants to go. There is stamina in his female family, so the jury is still out on him until we see if he can repeat his performance in the American Pharoah. He looks like a stalker and should be fairly close to the pace. <b>TROPHY CHASER</b> and <b>TOPPER T</b> need to show more, with the former looking to rebound off a poor effort in the Champagne after a monster maiden score.</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=649000" width="1" height="1">kentucky derbyBreeders' Cup JuvenileChurchill DownsNyquistClassic EmpireGood MagicSignalmanGame WinnerMind ControlTight TenDuelingStandard DeviationKnicks GoTopper TComplexityGunmetal GrayTrophy ChaserMr. MoneyCode of HonorStreet SenseWell DefinedBombs Away! Don't Ignore Pavel in Classichttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/21/Bombs-Away_2100_-Don_1920_t-Ignore-Pavel-in-Classic.aspxMon, 22 Oct 2018 01:11:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648998Michelle Benson0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648998http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/21/Bombs-Away_2100_-Don_1920_t-Ignore-Pavel-in-Classic.aspx#comments<p>There are forgotten horses; there are overlays; there are longshots; and then there are those horses who are all three and can be classified as potential bombs.<br><br>With the depth of this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, you are going to get some huge prices on horses that don’t deserve to be huge prices. But remember, depth does not always equate to strength, and at this point we really don’t know just how strong the Classic field is.<br><br>With that said, you are about to read a series of excuses for one of those potential bombs, Pavel. Many bettors don’t want to hear excuses. They want results. They want something concrete. In short, they want something staring them in the face. But when a huge longshot comes in and you can’t figure out why, it is often overlooked excuses that explain why a horse wins when he shouldn’t and why he went off at such high odds.<br><br>In the case of Pavel, on paper he shouldn’t be able to knock off this field of talented and consistent horses and he shouldn’t be able to make up the 12 lengths he was beaten by Accelerate in the Pacific Classic. And on top of that he will have to go into the Breeders’ Cup Classic without a prep within the past two months. All that adds up to gigantic odds.<br><br>But let’s look at Pavel more closely. Early in his career he was asked to and did things horses are not supposed to do and established himself as an extraordinary talent. He flew cross country and went into the Jim Dandy Stakes against the winners of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness having only one 6 1/2-furlong maiden victory under his belt. Talk about a bold move. Yet there he was battling for the lead with three other horses at the eighth pole before tiring a bit to finish fourth, a head behind Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and almost a length in front of Preakness winner Cloud Computing. Again, this is a horse with only one sprint race under him and having to travel some 3,000 miles.<br><br>Following a scintillating six-length romp in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx and a 103 Beyer speed figure, he jumped up to a mile and a quarter against some of the best older horses in the country, and despite having run only three times in his life, he was able to finish third behind the top-class Diversify and Keen Ice, beaten only 1 3/4 lengths after chasing the pace throughout. The final time of the race was an excellent 2:00 4/5, the third fastest Gold Cup in 14 years, earning Pavel a 104 Beyer speed figure in defeat.<br><br>He was then sent off at odds of 28-1 in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and never picked his feet up, beaten 34 lengths. I’ll come back to that race later.<br><br>To demonstrate just what this horse was asked to do early on in his career, he then dropped back from 1 1/4 miles down to seven furlongs in the Malibu Stakes and was fourth behind the brilliant City of Light in 1:21 1/5. Let’s not hold that race against him, as seven furlongs definitely is not his best distance. He then stretched back out to 1 1/8 miles in the San Pasqual Stakes and had a disastrous trip, stuck in traffic the whole way. Let’s let track announcer Michael Wrona describe his stretch run – “Pavel badly blocked…and (Mario) Gutierrez has to yank Pavel across multiple sets of heels.” He finally was able to swing clear late and just missed catching Mubtaahij for third. So let’s definitely not hold that race against him either.<br><br>Next came the Dubai World Cup, and on a notoriously speed favoring track he again finished fourth, but only two lengths behind runner-up West Coast, who also was victimized by the speed conducive track. Pavel still earned a respectable 99 Beyer speed figure.<br><br>Normally it takes most horses a long time to recover from a trip to Dubai, but trainer Doug O’Neill not only brought him back in only two months, he brought back him going a mile and a quarter in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita and he pretty much came up empty, finishing fourth yet again. We can attribute that to being asked to do too much too soon.<br><br>So it was goodbye California and hello Churchill Downs…which happens to be the site of this year’s Breeders’ Cup. Finally, we got to see what Pavel is capable of when the race and the track is working in his favor, as he drew off to win the grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap by nearly four lengths, winning with his ears pricked and Gutierrez just showing him the whip in the final sixteenth. And he galloped out like he wanted to do a lot more.<br><br>Now, let’s get to his last start, the Pacific Classic. Yes, he was second by 12 lengths behind Accelerate. But I am just going to go back to the Breeders’ Cup Classic when he did no running at all over the Del Mar track, as did a number of other top-class horses for no explainable reason. I have made it a habit when handicapping to excuse all defeats at Del Mar, and it now seems obvious that Pavel and Del Mar are far from compatible. And it also should be noted that since the Pacific Classic was inaugurated in 1991, no winner has ever gone on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The last horse to come relatively close was Collected last year when the Breeders’ Cup was run for the first time at Del Mar. So he no doubt is a horse who loves that track. If the mighty Arrogate can lose three straight races at Del Mar, finishing up the track in two of them, I am not going to be that critical of Pavel. <br><br>California Chrome romped in the Pacific Classic, but was collared by Arrogate in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita when he appeared to have the race won. Several top-class Pacific Classic winners have come up empty in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, such as Game On Dude, Lava Man, Borrego, Came Home, and General Challenge. And Pleasantly Perfect wound up a distant third.<br><br>So, I am putting a line through Pavel’s two races at Del Mar. With the best performance of his life coming at Churchill Downs and a career that can be called unusually orchestrated, there is at least a reason why Pavel can be considered a potential longshot possibility in the BC Classic. Yes, I offered a lot of excuses and you can dismiss them if you wish, but there is a razor thin line between an excuse and a reason. Let’s just say there were reasons for Pavel’s defeats. From day one, his campaign has been all over the place, traveling all over the country, all over the world, thrown into big races with no foundation, and competing at seven different racetracks at five different distances from 6 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles. In 11 lifetime starts, he has finished on the board in 10 of them.<br><br>Even owner Paul Reddam admitted that Pavel has been put through a lot in his career and asked to do a great deal, certainly more than the vast majority of horses.<br><br>Following the Stephen Foster, Reddam said, “Doug made some changes after the Jockey Club Gold Cup and changed him back for the Foster, so hopefully he has him figured out.”<br><br>Pavel has turned in back-to-back six-furlong works, including a sharp 1:13 1/5 drill in his last work on Oct. 19.<br><br>If O’Neill does indeed have him figured out and Pavel finally is starting to have something resembling a normal career, and we see a repeat of the Foster, then he is a horse worth considering as a monster longshot, at least to fill the exotics. But don’t be surprised if Churchill Downs brings out the best in him once again and we wind up with another Volponi, whose career was equally as bizarre.</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648998" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cup Classichangin with haskinClassical Grasshttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/19/classical-grass.aspxFri, 19 Oct 2018 17:55:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648997Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648997http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/19/classical-grass.aspx#comments<p>In June of this year, Catholic Boy was winning the Pennine Ridge Stakes on grass at Belmont Park and 17 days later we watched Yoshida run his tail off to be beaten 1 1/4 lengths in the 15-horse Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot following his victory in the Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs.</p>
<p>If there was an exacta future book wager for the Breeders’ Cup Classic back then, a Catholic Boy – Yoshida box would probably be around 500-1.</p>
<p>Despite his victory last year in the Remsen Stakes, it looked as if Catholic Boy was back on the grass for good following a brief journey on the Kentucky Derby trail. He would follow that score up with another dramatic victory in the Belmont Derby, battling back from certain defeat just as he had done in the Pennine Ridge. A career on the dirt now seemed like a memory.</p>
<p>As for Yoshida, He had never felt dirt under his hooves in the afternoon since he began his career on the grass in November of 2016.</p>
<p>But the one thing both horses had in common was they liked to tease their trainers in the morning by doing enough on the dirt to suggest that they wouldn’t mind a future on the sandy loam. </p>
<p>Catholic Boy had been there before and when he breezed a bullet five furlongs in :59 3/5 over the Saratoga main track on August 6, visions of the Travers Stakes started dancing before trainer Jonathan Thomas’ eyes. </p>
<p>Yoshida hadn’t turned any heads with dazzling works, but he worked steady enough over the dirt to make his connections curious as to how he would handle it in the afternoon. They toyed with the idea of running him in the Whitney early in the meet, but opted to go with Good Samaritan, who had made an auspicious debut on dirt in the Jim Dandy Stakes the year before and followed it up with a victory in the New Orleans Handicap this year. But when he was beaten 16 lengths in the Whitney it made the Woodward Stakes later in the meet even more enticing a spot to take a shot with Yoshida.</p>
<p>So, on August 25, Catholic Boy ran away with the Travers, drawing off to a four-length victory in 2:01 4/5, and a week later, Yoshida mowed down his opponents in the stretch in the Woodward, winning by two lengths in a solid 1:48 4/5, coming home his final three-eighths in a scintillating :36 flat and final eighth in :12 1/5.</p>
<p>Just like that, Thomas and Bill Mott had Breeders’ Cup Classic contenders and decided to put their new toys away for over two months rather than risk breaking them before the big race. They were well aware that a repeat of the Travers and Woodward would put them right there with the big guns Diversify and Accelerate. When Diversify eliminated himself from Classic consideration by self destructing in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Accelerate didn’t exactly dazzle anyone winning the Awesome Again Stakes, running 15 Beyer points lower than his Pacific Classic score, Catholic Boy and Yoshida suddenly became big guns themselves.</p>
<p>One factor in their favor as all-purpose horses is that the Churchill Downs dirt track has always been favorable to grass horses.</p>
<p>With so many doors being opened this year and in recent years, such as winning the Kentucky Derby without racing at 2, sweeping the Triple Crown a mere 111 days after ones career debut, and winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic off a two-month layoff without one of the traditional prep races, we may now have another one – grass horses switching to the dirt and winning the Classic.</p>
<p>We have seen Europeans run big in the Classic, with Arcangues scoring a 133-1 upset and Giant’s Causeway, Sahkee, Swain, Declaration of War, Toast of New York, and Ibn Bey nearly pulling it off. Raven’s Pass also was victorious, but that was on a synthetic surface at Santa Anita. Few American horses have given it a try. Volponi ran in four consecutive grass stakes in 2002, with a victory, two seconds, and a third, and had scattered grass races throughout his career. After prepping in the Meadowlands Cup on dirt, he ran off with the Classic by 6 1/2 lengths at 43-1.</p>
<p>Catholic Boy fits in that category, except he won’t be a longshot and has had a much shorter career, while Yoshida has been far more grass oriented, running on it his entire career before his last start. In any event, if either horse wins the Classic, or if both are right there at the wire, you can expect to see more horses trying to emulate them in the future. As it is, we are seeing more horses coming out of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and embarking on the Derby trail.</p>
<p>Also remember that Thunder Snow came off six consecutive grass races to start his career and then won the UAE 2,000 Guineas and UAE Derby on dirt. Later in his career he came off five consecutive grass races to win the Maktoum Challenge Round 2 and Dubai World Cup in a romp. Most recently he came off a poor showing in the Juddmonte International on grass to finish second by a neck in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.<br></p><p>In short, we could be witnessing a grass revolution in this country. Perhaps that will help our big horses stay sounder and keep them running longer. </p>
<p>So keep a close eye on Catholic Boy and Yoshida on November 3, as well as Thunder Snow. How they perform could have a profound effect on the sport.</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648997" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cup ClassicBill MottChurchill DownsCatholic BoyYoshidaJonathan ThomasVisiting Marchmont Cemetery and Damascushttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/16/Visiting-Marchmont-Cemetery-and-Damascus.aspxTue, 16 Oct 2018 19:38:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648994Michelle Benson0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648994http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/16/Visiting-Marchmont-Cemetery-and-Damascus.aspx#comments<p>It is difficult to put into words the emotions one feels when visiting a gravestone. From that slab of granite or stone comes a flood of memories, as if the deceased is right there with you, recalling all the special memories that were shared.<br><br>I am not equating the gravestone of a horse to that of a human being, but sometimes the memories are just as real and just as special, as they bring you back to another time and place in your life that make you feel warm and comforted inside. To be able to rekindle those memories after 50 years as if they are still fresh in your mind is a rare gift.<br><br>I have visited Claiborne Farm on several occasions over the years, but have never visited their cemetery situated back in the Marchmont section of the farm, where few get to visit. Buried there are all their great broodmares, including Personal Ensign, her daughter My Flag, and My Flag’s daughter Storm Flag Flaying – three generations of Breeders’ Cup winners. There is Thong and her daughter Special, the dam of Nureyev and granddam of Sadler’s Wells, as well as Hall of Famers Numbered Account, Inside Information, and Heavenly Prize; and Tuerta, the dam of Swale; Obeah, the dam of Go For Wand; File, the dam of Forty Niner; and Relaxing, the dam of Easy Goer. And so many more.<br><br>Among the males are Tom Rolfe, Ack Ack, Danzig, Forli, Devil’s Bag, Hawaii, Drone, and, again, so many more. Along a strip of grass on your left, cradled under a huge maple tree is a row of seven gravestones that include Easy Goer, Sir Ivor, Cox’s Ridge, Majestic Light, and Unbridled. Atop Unbridled’s stone lay a single red rose.<br><br>But my focus was on the second gravestone from the left, between Easy Goer and Sir Ivor. That was the gravestone of Damascus. It took no more than a second for all the memories, emotions, and everlasting images to emerge. For it was Damascus who opened the world of Thoroughbred racing to a frustrated and often melancholy 20-year-old trapped in a prison of over-the-counter stocks who was looking to break out from the dog-eat-dog world of Wall Street.<br><br>Looking at Damascus’ grave, I could once again vividly see those Belair white with red polka dots silks that he carried to so many spectacular victories. Those colors are ingrained in the memory and still evoke images and feelings of a time long gone; of innocence, the unbridled joy of victory, the gut-pounding sadness of defeat, and butterflies in the stomach.<br><br>Drifting back to 1967, gone were thoughts of the war in Vietnam, the Six Day War in Israel, anti-war protests spreading throughout the country, race riots in Detroit. Well, maybe not gone, but pushed farther back in the recesses of my mind. Little did I know that this discovery of Thoroughbred racing and Damascus would lead me through a portal into a wondrous new world that would shape my entire life and bring me joys and blessings I never could have imagined. <br></p><p>Yes, it was Damascus who helped lure me into a world I never knew existed; one of grace and beauty and boundless thrills. It was Damascus who breathed life into a hollow existence, numbed from years of toiling mindlessly on Wall Street. Suddenly I felt as if I was 20 going on 12.<br></p><p>I rejoiced in his many victories and suffered through his occasional defeats. Damascus inspired me to absorb everything I could about Thoroughbred racing, searching everywhere for old racing magazines, reading the Morning Telegraph every day on the subway, looking for whatever books I could find. Because of Damascus I became fascinated and eventually entranced with his arch rival Dr. Fager, who opened more doors for me years later.<br></p><p>I didn’t know it at the time, but because of the new world that I was led to by Damascus, I was able to escape the clutches of Wall Street in 1968 and make my way into that world when hired by the Morning Telegraph in October of 1969.<br></p><p>It would take a column by itself to go over Damascus’ career. But there is one series of races that defines him.<br></p><p>Damascus was a horse who needed to be raced into shape. In 1968, with only one easy allowance victory in five months after recovering from a grueling three-race trip to California, he was a short horse when he tackled Dr. Fager in the mile and a quarter Suburban Handicap. Carrying topweight of 133 pounds, with no speed to run with the good doctor, he was forced to eyeball his archrival early, making four separate moves at him. Four times Dr. Fager turned back his challenge and went on to equal Aqueduct's track record of 1:59 3/5, with Damascus tiring to finish third. Damascus came back in the mile and a quarter Amory Haskell Handicap carrying topweight of 131 pounds, and after stumbling badly at the start, he ran well to again finish third, beaten 1 1/2 lengths by the top-class Bold Hour, in receipt of 16 pounds. Those two races actually got Damascus 100 percent fit when he took on Dr. Fager again in the mile and a quarter Brooklyn Handicap. This time he was a coiled bundle of energy in the paddock, his coat listening, muscles rippling, and gaskins popping out of his skin.<br></p><p>Carrying 130 pounds and getting five pounds from Dr. Fager, he took advantage of the rapid pace set by stablemate Hedevar and finally was able to use his devastating turn of foot to roar by Dr. Fager and win going away by 2 1/2 lengths in a new track record 1:59 1/5, breaking Dr. Fager's short-lived record. That mark amazingly still stands after 50 years.<br></p><p>So, Damascus had run third going a mile and a quarter under 133 pounds, pushing Dr. Fager to a track-record-equaling time, then ran a close third going a mile and a quarter under 131 pounds after an eventful trip, giving the winner 16 pounds, and finally won convincingly going a mile and quarter in track-record time under 130 pounds defeating Dr. Fager. That is three mile and a quarter stakes, carrying 130 pounds or more in each one, and setting a track record in the last one…all in the span of 16 days. <br></p><p>Today, a horse would be considered a sure thing to “bounce” off that kind of effort and three huge performances in such a short period of time. But Damascus came back three weeks later and won the William du Pont Handicap carrying 134 pounds.<br></p><p>In 31 races, Damascus never finished out of the money, while defeating future Hall of Famers Buckpasser and Dr. Fager by 10 lengths in the 1967 Woodward Stakes, dubbed the Race of the Century; set a track record winning the American Derby by seven lengths in 1:46 4/5; won the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup easily in near-record time; and won two legs of the Triple Crown. After narrowly losing a grueling stretch battle with Dr. Fager in the Gotham stakes, he came back to romp by six lengths in the Wood Memorial one week later. Today, horses normally run every four to six weeks. In 16 starts as a 3-year-old, Damascus’ average time between races was 16 days.<br></p><p>In his final race, the 1968 Jockey Club Gold Cup, one of the soundest, most durable horses in history bowed a tendon and refused to be pulled up until he reached the finish line. One step past the wire, jockey Larry Adams finally was able to pull him up. It was as if Damascus needed to reach the finish line before giving in to his injury.<br></p><p>Through the years I visited Damascus at Claiborne Farm, capturing him with my camera romping across his paddock as a young stallion, covered with mud; rolling in the grass and then leaping to his feet; and finally introducing him to my 2-year-old daughter, who waved to him and blew him kisses.<br></p><p>Although it was not unexpected, it still was an emotional blow when Damascus died on August 8, 1995, at the age of 31.<br></p><p>I had not “seen” him since until this past Saturday when leading the Legacy Tour as part of the annual Secretariat Festival, which was highlighted by a rare visit to the Marchmont cemetery.<br></p><p>Just seeing the gravestone, which is beginning to show its wear after 23 years, and Damascus’ name inscribed on it inspired this column as an outlet to release the emotions felt. Needless to say, I was the last to leave the cemetery, as it was difficult to say goodbye to the horse who changed my life and paved the road I would take.<br></p><p>Damascus and the extraordinary feats he performed sadly have faded in the history books, but not so the memories that all came flooding back last weekend. After 50 years in Thoroughbred racing, those memories still remain a beacon that guides my way.</p><p><img mce_src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/ky36.JPG" alt="" src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/ky36.JPG" width="530" vspace="" hspace="" height="366" border="" align=""> <br></p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648994" width="1" height="1">damascushangin with haskinmarchmont cemeteryBig Red: The Early Yearshttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/05/big-red-the-early-years.aspxFri, 05 Oct 2018 19:49:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648989Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648989http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/05/big-red-the-early-years.aspx#comments<p><i>Since this story was first published in 2002, I have spoken to several other employees of Meadow Stud who remember Secretariat and have wonderful recollections of him as a baby and a yearling, and some of his wild adventures. So, with the annual Secretariat Festival in Lexington, Ky. on October 12-14 just around the corner, I thought I would update the original article to include new stories of the mischievous Big Red and the docile Riva Ridge from those who knew them well. As a lead-in to the festival, I have also updated my column on Penny Chenery’s “birthday party” to encompass the entire story of Secretariat. That revised column will be posted in the next several days.</i></p>
<p>In the spring of 1969, a magical seed was planted in the equine garden known as The Meadow, located in Caroline County, Va., just north of Richmond. From that seed the following spring would sprout a legendary creature who would one day transcend the Sport of Kings and forever alter the course of racing history. </p>
<p>But the harsh winds of 30 winters have since eroded this hallowed ground that once nurtured the immortal Secretariat. The pastures and training track that once shook from the pounding of "Big Red's" mighty hooves have been still for two decades. </p>
<p>Only 400 of the farm's original 2,000 acres are as they were then. The training track and adjoining barns have remained somewhat intact, but are decaying with every passing year. There are no longer horses frolicking about or even photographs on an office wall to keep the memories alive. All that remains in Caroline County to remind one of The Meadow's illustrious past are the aging, but still-fertile, minds of several former grooms, to whom those glory days of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s have all but faded from their minds. They have moved on with their lives--two work full-time as janitors, two have retired, and one dabbles as a handyman, occasionally doing lawn work and fixing small engines and lawn mowers. </p>
<p>Charlie Ross, 66, passes The Meadow every day to and from his job at the All American Truck Plaza, just off Interstate 95, directly across from King's Dominion amusement park. Ross has been employed there as a janitor for the past eight years. For someone who worked at The Meadow for 37 years, taking care of some of the best-bred yearlings in the country, Ross admits, “It was strange at first going from the horses to cleaning showers.”</p>
<p>One of the yearlings who was turned over to him in the early spring of 1971 was a powerful chestnut colt by Bold Ruler, out of Somethingroyal, who had already been given the name Secretariat. </p>
<p>Ross spent nearly a year grooming Secretariat, watching him trim off pounds of baby fat and develop into a racehorse and eventually into a legend. But the big chestnut with the three white legs and long, elegant strip of white running down his face was but one of many horses to pass Ross' way. Although he does admit to feeling good about his role in Secretariat's life, in the world of Charlie Ross, there is not much room for sentimentality. His only personal link to Secretariat these days is a copy of Ray Woolfe Jr.'s book, which tells Big Red's story in text and photos. Any other pieces of memorabilia collected over the years are long gone. </p>
<p>On the afternoon of Dec. 20, 2001, Ross left work at the usual time of 3 o'clock, got into his 1999 metallic blue Toyota pickup, and headed west on two-lane Route 30 toward his home on nearby Sadie Lane. But today was different. Instead of driving past the dirt road entrance of The Meadow's old training complex, Ross hung a right and drove along the outside of the track to an opening in the rail. On the other side of the track was the indoor training barn and the European-style stable area, with the three outdoor barns forming three sides of a square. The fourth side, completing the square, was a large open shed, in which still stood the old hotwalking machine. </p>
<p>Ross looked at the peeling paint of the training barn that was now more gray than white and just shook his head. "It's been a lot of years since I've been here," he said. "It feels strange to be back. There was a time when I used to be here more than I was at home. There sure was no paint peeling off back then like it is now. We used to paint it every year. This was a beautiful place to work, and Mr. (Christopher) Chenery was a wonderful man to work for. So was Mrs. Tweedy (Chenery's daughter Penny, who took over the farm after her father's death in 1972)." </p>
<p>Ross, who has a noticeable limp due to arthritis, walked alongside one of the barns, passing one stall after another. When he came to the end, he unhooked the top door of the first stall and said, as if he were unveiling a priceless work of art, "This was Secretariat's stall." Inside, several of the ceiling boards had come loose and were split and rotted. In the back left corner hung a veil of cobwebs, and in the front left corner stood an old broom. </p>
<p>Ross just stared inside, then took a few steps forward and rested his arms atop the bottom stall door. Although he said nothing, one couldn't help but imagine the flood of memories that were rushing through his mind. "See these two holes," he said, pointing to a pair of nail holes in the open top door. "This is where I hung the plaque that read: 'Secretariat, by Bold Ruler out of Somethingroyal.' Yeeeaaah, it does bring back memories. I remember when I used to stand outside this stall in the sunshine, just as I am now. </p>
<p>"I got Secretariat in the spring, along with five other yearlings, and I remember liking him when I first saw him. He was built real strong, and because he was so big and powerful, it took him a while to get it together. He was a very quiet horse to work with and I didn't have any problems with him. He had no bad habits; no biting, no kicking or anything like that. Meredith Bailes used to ride him a lot and he thought he might be something, but he really never showed anything to make us believe he was gonna become such a great horse." </p>
<p>Ross recalled going to the Preakness on a rented bus with other farm employees. He also attended the Belmont Stakes with his wife, but was blocked by the huge crowd and had to watch the historic event on a TV monitor in the clubhouse. </p>
<p>As Ross returned to his truck, he seemed to be engulfed by the quiet, as the only sound came from the winter winds howling through the naked tree limbs. "Yeah, I made a lot of tracks around this old place," he said. "But there's nothin' around here no more. It's really sad. I still think about Secretariat now and then, especially when I watch the races on television. But I have another job now, and as long as I'm working, I'm happy." </p>
<p>Just up the road from Ross' house is the home of 66-year-old Bannie Mines, who along with Howard Gregory and Lewis Tillman, took care of Secretariat when he was a foal and weanling. Tillman died several years ago, but Mines and Gregory are still going strong. Mines lives in a small house on Riva Ridge Road with his daughter and grandson, for whom he babysits while his daughter is at work. A few doors down lives Raymond "Peter Blue" Goodall, who was Riva Ridge's groom when he was a yearling. </p>
<p>Gregory lives several minutes away, across Route 30, on Gregory Road. One of his neighbors is 74-year-old Wilbur "Bill" Street, who spent most of his time at the track, but did team up with his brother Harry to van Secretariat from the farm to Hialeah in January of 1972 to start his racing career. </p>
<p>Mines says he doesn't do much else other than some yard work and watching television. Gregory, although 76, is still sharp and loves to keep busy, mowing lawns, doing a little landscaping, and fixing engines.</p>
<p>Gregory worked at The Meadow for 31 years and another several years after Penny Chenery sold the farm. Of the next two owners of The Meadow, also known as Meadow Farm, one went bankrupt and the other went to prison. The current owner tore down the original house and built a new one across the road from the old training complex. </p>
<p>Gregory was around Secretariat from the day he was born, which was March 30, 1970, at 10 minutes past midnight. Dr. Olive Britt, The Meadow's veterinarian who still practices part-time at age 83, remembers getting a call from the nightwatchman, telling her that Somethingroyal was in the middle of foaling. By the time she arrived, Somethingroyal had already given birth. Britt, who now lives in nearby Goochland County, said she'll never forget farm manager Howard Gentry watching the foal get to his feet and saying, "This is what we've been waiting for for 35 years." </p>
<p>Gregory could tell right away the colt was something special. "We knew from the get-go he was different from any horse we ever had," he said. "There was definitely something there. I remember him being very alert, and he'd test you. When you walked him to the paddock your mind and his had to correspond. If he thought you weren't paying attention he was gone. You had to have your mind focused on him at all times. I also worked with Riva Ridge and he was an altogether different horse. He was so quiet, and all you had to do was say, 'Whoa, Riva,' and he'd just stop and stand there. But Secretariat would try you in a heartbeat. You had to know what you were doing, because he always knew when you had him and when you didn't. And if he knew you didn't, that was it; he was gone. </p>
<p>Wayne Mount, who broke and exercised Riva Ridge and once had the privilege of galloping Secretariat, remembers the day when Secretariat was just a baby and somehow got through the gate and ran out on the busy Route 30. A truck driver saw him and got out of his truck and managed to catch him and grab hold of him before one of the grooms frantically ran out to the road and brought him back. Penny Chenery was never aware of this near-disastrous misadventure until it was mentioned to her at a reunion she was giving just before the release of the Secretariat movie.</p>
<p>Tom Street, who is the son of assistant farm manager Harry Street, and has worked on the farm since he was a young boy, said, “You should have seen the look on her face when she heard that story. She bit her tongue, that’s for sure.”</p>
<p>But that incident was not the only wild adventure involving the young mischievous Secretariat. His dam, Somethingroyal was always the first mare at the gate when it was time to bring in the mares and foals. But on one particular morning there was no sign of her or her Bold Ruler foal. They were nowhere to be found and their groom, Lewis Tillman, and his grandson Larry, realized something was wrong.</p>
<p>Larry ran toward the end of the field and when he went over the ridge at the far end, he saw Somethingroyal standing there alone looking down at the North Anna River that ran through the farm at the base of the broodmare field. As he got closer, he could hear a lot of commotion, and when he was able to get close enough to see the river, there was Secretariat in the middle of the river, splashing around and having a ball.</p>
<p>As Street’s brother, George, who also grew up on the farm, said, “I bet you the boys were sweatin’ that day.” George, who was a young teenager at the time, recalls riding on the van with his dad to bring some horses to Claiborne and several other farms in 1972 and ’73 and then driving to Churchill Downs to see Riva Ridge and Secretariat win the Kentucky Derby. “Driving back afterward, people saw the Meadow Farm sign on the van and were blowin’ their horns at us and hootin’ and hollerin,” he said. “That was the coolest thing. I’ll never forget that as long as I live.” </p>
<p>Tom Street did a little bit of everything on the farm and still participates in the annual Secretariat birthday celebration every March at the Virginia Horse Festival, held at the Meadow Event Park on the site of what was Meadow Stud.</p>
<p>“I worked with Lewis Tillman, halter training Secretariat, brushing him, and getting him used to being handled and being around people,” Street said. “I’ll tell you one thing, he was strong, extremely strong. Somethingroyal was the dominant mare in the herd, so he picked up a lot of her personality. She was very protective of Riva Ridge’s dam Iberia, who was quite old and her vision wasn’t very good. Somethingroyal would not let the other mares pick on her at all.”</p>
<p>It was Mert Bailes, son of the farm trainer Bob Bailes, who used to get on Secretariat. Wayne Mount recalls, “The first time Bailes got on him on in the indoor riding barn and was straddling him, the colt crow-hopped three times, like that rabbit in the cartoon, and then just went right about his business, walking and then trotting, just like he was supposed to do. He never missed a beat. It was amazing. One day we were all walking our horses in the barn, cooling them out and Mert says to us, 'Boys, one day you're gonna read about this horse.' He said it three times, and I finally said to him, 'Bailes, you don't know that. This horse ain't even hit the dirt outside yet. He's just a baby, we don't know what he's gonna be.' And he said it again, 'I'm tellin' you, you're gonna read about this horse one day.' I told Mrs. Tweedy about it and she said he hadn't heard that before. I told her, 'Well, Mert Bailes keeps sayin' it.' How he knew that I'll never know. I'm sure it was the way he felt under him. There was something about him. After that, Mert wouldn't let anyone else get on Secretariat. </p>
<p>"One day, Mert had somewhere to go and I got to gallop Secretariat for the only time. I have to admit, he was just a big, beautiful horse to me. I couldn't tell anything different about him. But Mert Bailes knew better. Secretariat was totally different than Riva Ridge, who was such a sweet horse with those lop ears. I loved Riva to death. He was a little spooky at first. He was tough to hold galloping alongside horses; he just wanted to go and always be in front of the other horses. To this day I still could kick myself for not going to the Kentucky Derby. I remember watching the Marlboro Cup and yelling at the quarter pole for Riva to 'Beat him! Beat him!' But when Ronnie yelled over to Eddie Maple, 'How much you got?' Eddie yelled back, 'I'm all out,' as Secretariat went right on by him." </p>
<p>Howard Gregory has many memories of Big Red and his days at The Meadow. "Secretariat was a gorgeous colt, with a beautiful head, and those three white stockings," he recalled. "I'll never forget watching the Belmont Stakes on TV. Lord, that was something to see. I'm very proud to have been around a horse like that. I remember putting his mother, Somethingroyal, in the ground after she died at age 31. I also buried Hill Prince. Those were really special days back then, and you couldn't work for anyone nicer than Mr. Chenery. Money was never a problem, and we got bonuses and shares in winnings. I was available anytime they needed me, because I loved what I was doing and where I was working. When I wanted to build my own house, they helped me out. And because of Mr. Chenery, I live in a six-room house on five acres, and it's all mine. There aren't many people out there like Mr. Chenery anymore. </p>
<p>"I stayed on after Mrs. Tweedy sold the farm, but the last fellow I worked for, Mr. (Eric) Friedlander, couldn't pay us, so I left. I drive by the farm most every day, shopping and doing errands, but I go right by. I haven't been back since the day I left. It hurts me too bad to see what's become of it. I've had several jobs since, but I'm pretty much retired now. I thank God I'm still around to do whatever I want to. I couldn't ask for more than that." </p>
<p>Gregory, like Ross, has little in the way of memorabilia from the old days, and no longer sees much of his fellow workers. "I used to have all kinds of stuff, but where they are I couldn't put my finger on it," he said. "It's been so long. I very seldom get a chance to visit with the other guys. Everybody's pretty much gone on their own now. Every once in a while I run acrosss one of 'em, but not too often." </p>
<p>Gregory actually lives only five or six minutes from Riva Ridge Road, and was able to point out Bannie Mines' house before heading to Richmond to do some errands. Mines, who is Charlie Ross' brother-in-law, is an amiable fellow with white hair, who cordially welcomed a stranger into his home. While his memory is not nearly as sharp as Gregory's, and he has a problem hearing, he did try to pull out whatever remnants of the old days his memory could muster. Mines worked at The Meadow for 25 years, mainly in the broodmare barn and helping out with the yearlings. </p>
<p>“I remember Secretariat was a big, strong colt; bigger than the others, and very well built,” he recalled. “With the weanlings, we always tried to put the three best horses together, and the best horse would go into the first stall. I remember Secretariat was put in the first stall, so everyone must have felt he was the best. He gave you an idea even then that he might turn into something. It made me feel real good to see him become such a great horse. He was pretty easy to work with, but he had a temper, too. I had him for about a year, and then he went to Charlie.” </p>
<p>Mines continued on after the farm was sold, then went to work at another farm before retiring. “I don't do much these days, just rake a little leaves and cut a little grass," he said. “I watch TV most of the time. I don’t have any souvenirs, but I did have a picture of Hill Prince. I think it's out back in the shed somewhere.” </p>
<p>Mines then went out to his backyard and opened the door to his shed. He had to step over several large objects to get to the back wall, and there, hanging in a glassless frame, was a finish and winner's circle photo of Hill Prince, yellowed by the years. Mines removed the photo from the frame and showed off his only link to the old days. “I really do miss those days," he said. “But I left after the last people took over and I've never been back.” </p>
<p>Riva Ridge Road and Sadie Lane comprise the settlement known as Duval Town, which was originally built after emancipation to house freed slaves. It was there that the majority of grooms lived. Each morning, the farm truck would make its rounds through Duval Town, picking up the grooms and bringing them to work. Sadie Lane was named by the county after the matriarch of the extended family that lived there. Known as “Aunt Sarah” or “Aunt Sadie,” she cooked for Penny Chenery's mother in the 1940s. </p>
<p>“I remember Raymond Goodall's mother, Magnolia, worked in the house, along with her sister,” Penny Chenery recalled. “And they were daughters of Aunt Sadie. They were all great people. The grooms were all in their 30s during the heyday of the '70s. Whenever we won a big race, we gave them a week's pay. They were wonderful to me. I clearly was not my father, but they were respectful and helpful as I was learning on the job. It was just a wonderful team.”</p>
<p>And they came up with a wonderful horse, believed by many to be the greatest of all time. There are only faint memories left for The Meadow's grooms. But Howard Gregory's eyes still light up when he thinks of the chestnut foal who would one day grow up to be Big Red. He rolled the images around in his mind for a few seconds before the words made their way out: “A horse like Secretariat. That will never happen no more.”</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648989" width="1" height="1">SecretariatBannie MinesCharlie RossPenny CheneryHowared GregorySecretariat FestivalMeadow StudLewis TillmanWilbur &quot;Bill&quot; StreetHronis New Owner with Old School Ideashttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/02/Hronis-New-Owner-with-Old-School-Ideas.aspxTue, 02 Oct 2018 19:56:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648983Michelle Benson0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648983http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/02/Hronis-New-Owner-with-Old-School-Ideas.aspx#comments<p>I couldn’t help but be fascinated by an interview that NBC did with Kosta Hronis, co-owner of and central figure behind Accelerate, prior to the Sept. 29 Awesome Again Stakes. <br><br>This is the main comment that I was delighted to hear from a relatively new owner who, along with his brother Pete, has experienced an unusual amount of success in such a short period of time, having started in 2010:<br><br>“We were looking forward to him running in his 5-year-old (season). We kinda had this in mind even as a late 3-year-old. Keep him on the track and let him mature as long as he was healthy and ready to go; let him be a racehorse. That’s what he was born to do.”<br><br>That was as refreshing a comment as the first blast of cool air in autumn. These are the words you used to hear from owners who were true sportsmen, who got into the game for the sport of it and to see their horses run over a prolonged period of time. As Kosta said, that’s what they are born to do.<br><br>It’s not as if Accelerate is some obscurely bred horse who breeders wouldn’t be interested in. He is by the successful young sire Lookin At Lucky, who won the Preakness Stakes, out of a mare by the classy Awesome Again, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Accelerate&nbsp; is a half-brother to Daddy D T, who placed in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, and he also possesses the much desired Rasmussen Factor (RF), being inbred top and bottom to the top-class broodmare Smartaire through her son Smarten, who won four Derbys and finished second in the Travers Stakes, and her daughter Smart Darlin, by Alydar.<br><br>Hronis said he has loved racing and horses since he was a young kid, coming to Santa Anita with his parents and grandparents and making $1 bets. <br><br>“It just kind of snowballed, one horse after another,” he continued in the interview. “We’re blessed to be where we are today. We just love the sport, love the game, and we’re having a great time.”<br><br>When asked about having to take on West Coast in what was hoped to be a prep race that didn’t take too much out of Accelerate, he said. “You take on all comers. That’s just what it is. Would we have preferred not to see him? Sure, but Accelerate should be ready to go and we’re looking forward to running him.”<br><br>That also sounds like an old school owner who loves seeing his horses run and is willing to take on all comers. The comments above are not common from owners these days, which is what made them so refreshing to hear.<br><br>Rick Hammerle, racing secretary at Santa Anita, said of Kosta and Pete, “They are the kind of owners everyone roots for. They never complain, they’re great winners, and they’re great losers.”<br><br>That also sounds like the old school owners who knew how to win and accepted defeat gracefully and with class.<br><br>Kosta and Pete are from Delano, Calif. in the San Joaquin Valley, where they grow grapes and oranges. According to Kosta, after using rock, paper, scissors to determine their fate in racing, it was Pete who stayed home and handled the business, while Kosta, giving in to his midlife crisis, focused on buying horses and building a stable that, as he put it, “went from a dream to a hobby to a full-fledged business.”<br><br>Their first big thrill was being introduced to trainer John Sadler, never thinking he would agree to train for “a couple of farmers.” But Sadler started off claiming a horse, and their magical ride had begun, as they enjoyed getting to know each one of their horses, while letting Sadler do his job and never interfering, which still holds true. <br><br>“John not only trained our horses, he trained us,” he said. “He took the time to groom us.”<br><br>So, from claiming horses, they began attending the 2-year-old sales, then purchasing horses privately, and now buying yearlings.<br><br>Amazingly, the top-class horses started rolling in, with the help of David Ingordo at the sales. Lady of Shamrock got the snowball rolling when she captured the 2012 American Oaks and Del Mar Oaks to become their first grade 1 winner. Then came Iotapa, who added the grade 1 Vanity and Clement Hirsch Stakes; Hard Aces, winner of the grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita, and placing in that race twice, as well as the Santa Anita Handicap and numerous other stakes; Stellar Wind, champion 3-year-old filly and winner of five grade 1 stakes and earnings of almost $3 million; Accelerate, who achieved the rare feat of winning the Santa Anita Handicap, Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic in the same year; and their latest sensation, the undefeated Catalina Cruiser.<br><br>That is an extraordinary accomplishment in such a short period of time. And Kosta is enjoying every minute of it. As he says, he has no hobbies, so racing has encompassed his life.<br><br>He has seen Accelerate mature from a good 3-year-old, winning the Los Alamitos Derby and Shared Belief Stakes and placing in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile to an occasionally brilliant 4-year-old, crushing Arrogate in the San Diego Handicap and placing in the Pacific Classic, to a sensational 5-year-old, sweeping the Santa Anita Handicap, Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic, winning those three prestigious races by an average margin of 7 1/2 lengths and also capturing the grade 1 Awesome Again and grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes, knocking Triple Crown winner Justify off the No. 1 spot on the NTRA weekly poll.<br><br>Because they let Accelerate do what he was born to do, they were able to remind us just how much horses can improve and peak at 4 and 5, something that has gotten lost over the years. They allow their horses to race as “mature adults” rather than retire them as “teenagers” who never get the chance to reach their full potential.<br><br>They could have easily retired Stellar Wind after her championship year at 3 and earning $886,000. And they certainly could have retired her at the end of her 4-year-old campaign after she defeated the great Beholder in the grade 1 Clement Hirsch and Zenyatta Stakes. But they decided to keep her in training as a 5-year-old, and all she did was win another three grade 1 stakes and earn $800,000. <br><br>Why keep her in training at 5 when they could have gotten millions for her at the Keeneland November sale? <br><br>“We owed it to her to be a racehorse as long as she was enjoying it,” Kosta said.<br><br>That pretty much tells you all you need to know about Hronis Racing. You can bet Alfred Vanderbilt, C.V. Whitney, John Galbreath, Ogden Phipps, and Joseph Widener are smiling down knowing there is one owner who still shares their values and sportsmanship and loves the game and the horses as they did back when racing was truly the Sport of Kings.<br></p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648983" width="1" height="1">hangin with haskinAccelerateKosta HronisBeware of the Classic Prep Losershttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/01/beware-of-the-classic-prep-losers.aspxMon, 01 Oct 2018 15:48:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648982emorgan0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648982http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/10/01/beware-of-the-classic-prep-losers.aspx#comments<p>The
Breeders' Cup Classic preps are in the books, and what we have is, in simple
terms, a mish mash on paper. The anticipated East vs. West showdown between
Accelerate and Diversify didn't pan out with the performance of Diversify in
the Jockey Club Gold Cup. And while Accelerate won the Awesome Again Stakes by
2 1/4 lengths, it wasn't with the same authority we had seen in his previous
races, and that final three-eighths in :40 3/5 is not going to instill fear in
the opposition. Also, Accelerate is going to have to travel outside of
California for only the second time in his 21-race career. And he was beaten at
6-5 in that only previous start.</p>
<p>You also
have to take into consideration that the third-place finisher, Isotherm, who
was right there through most of the stretch run and finished only a half-length
behind West Coast was 57-1 in a six-horse field, hadn't won a race since
February 2017, and was winless in his four starts on dirt.</p>
<p>But in
Accelerate's defense, this was only a prep and he had less than an ideal trip,
breaking slowly from the outside post and getting hung four-wide into the first
turn and then continuing wide down the backstretch and into the far turn. So,
assuming he will be as effective at Churchill Downs as in California, he still
should be a force to deal with in the Classic. Many will be mentioning trainer
John Sadler's 0-for-41 record in the Breeders' Cup and Accelerate's dismal
performance in last year's Breeders Cup Dirt Mile, but he is a far better horse
at age 5 and is still a major endorsement for keeping a horse in training and
letting him grow into his full potential. There is no reason to be down on him.
He is still a very talented horse, just as Sadler is a very talented trainer. And, oh, yes, he did win the race going away.<br></p>
<p>As for
Diversify, he will always be a very dangerous horse wherever he runs, but just
as the pace and his exceptional speed can help him win races, they can also
cost him. While he did set insane fractions in the Gold Cup and was only beaten
five lengths, the 3-year-old Mendelssohn, who tracked him the whole way, ran a
much stronger race to finish third, beaten two lengths. And you can't ignore
the final quarter in a pedestrian :26. Also, let's not forget that the winner,
Discreet Lover ,did pay $93. He is a very useful horse who has picked up a check
in several top-class stakes and won the Exclesior Handicap early in the year,
but he was coming off an atrocious performance in the Woodward and had won only
one of his previous nine starts and would again be a longshot in the Classic,
as he has been in his last seven starts. He is a tough old boy, but he won't be
able to count on such a sizzling pace to run at in the Classic.</p>
<p>The other
Classic prep winner over the weekend was Mind Your Biscuits, who looked
exceptional winning the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs. Granted it wasn't a
particularly strong field, but he did everything you wanted to see to build up
confidence that he can stretch out to a mile and a quarter, which would have
seemed totally inconceivable four months ago when he looked to be the best
sprinter in the country. Talk about a trainer knowing his horse and stretching
his limits. There is no denying that Chad Summers has done a remarkable job
with this horse. He could have easily kept him sprinting and aiming for the BC
Sprint for the third time after two tough defeats, but he has somehow turned
him into one of the leading contenders for the Classic.</p>
<p>Not only did
Mind Your Biscuits draw off in the stretch to win by almost five lengths in a
strong 1:48 3/5 for the mile and an eighth, he came home his final
three-eighths in a powerful :36 flat, as if he wanted more distance. Although Summers has had the Classic in mind for a while, another incentive for pointing in that direction is not having to take on Imperial Hint in the Sprint. Imperial Hint was stabled with Summers' horses at Saratoga, just a few stalls down from Mind Your Biscuits, so Summers' is well aware just how special he is. And Saturday's walk in the park in the Vosburgh, eased up in 1:08 1/5, did nothing to change his mind. </p>
<p>OK, so much
for the winners. There were a number of positives for the beaten horses that
would make you think they could be peaking in the Classic. The main one, of course
is Awesome Again runner-up West Coast, who desperately needed this race
considering how fresh and sharp he was, making a premature early move to take
the lead through a strong early pace. It looked as if it would take its toll as
he backed up to third, but he found a second wind and, thanks to a slow final
furlong in :13 3/5, was able to get up for second. This race definitely should
set him up well for the Classic, and unlike Accelerate, he has won or placed at
Saratoga, Parx, Belmont Park, Gulfstream, Keeneland, and Meydan, so we know he
can take his show on the road. After four consecutive defeats, he just has to
get back in that winning mode. But you can't fault his two defeats to the older
Gun Runner in the Breeders' Cup Classic and Pegasus World Cup or to Thunder
Snow on a notoriously speed-favoring track in the Dubai World Cup or to the far
more seasoned Accelerate on Saturday. Watch for him to get bet heavily in the
Classic.</p>
<p>Speaking of
Thunder Snow, he obviously loved returning to the dirt and looked like a winner
of the Jockey Club Gold Cup until he was nailed on the wire by Discreet Lover.
He fortunately was not able to keep up with Diversify and Mendelssohn, who
opened 10 lengths on the field through those suicidal fractions of :45 3/5, 1:09,
and 1:33 4/5. Although it was set up for a horse to come from far out of it,
you can't ignore the fact that he ran his fourth quarter, from the
three-quarters to the mile, in a sensational :23 1/5, so his final quarter in
:25 1/5 was not that bad at all. Like West Coast, he looks to be set up
perfectly for the Classic, as long as he doesn't have memories of his last trip
to Churchill Downs and one of the biggest fiascos in Kentucky Derby history.
But there is no denying he will be a major force Nov. 3.</p><p>You also
have to give a lot of credit to Mendelssohn for sitting right behind that
brutal pace and hanging tough in the stretch to be beaten only two lengths. The
big question is his ability to settle off the pace and not set or chase fast
fractions, which also did him in in the Dwyer Stakes. But he is another who
will be dangerous coming off a defeat, and you have to give him a lot of credit
for making four transatlantic trips this year and improving with each start.
And we saw what he is capable of on his best day when he demolished his field
by 18 1/2 lengths in the UAE Derby.</p>
<p>And now we
come to the most intriguing horse of all, and one who could be extremely live
at a big price in the Classic. Has any horse had a stranger career than the
Lukas runnerup Toast of New York? Yes, that's the same Toast of New York who
was beaten a nose by Bayern in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic, finishing ahead
of California Chrome and Shared Belief. Following an absence of three years, he
returned in a mile and a quarter allowance race over the all-weather track at
Lingfield and won carrying 130 pounds. But he returned to the United States for
the Pegasus World Cup and was distanced. He was on the shelf for eight months
and returned once again to the States for the Lukas Classic. </p>
<p>One of the
most impressive things I saw all weekend was the move he made circling horses
on the far turn, running that quarter in a scintillating :23 4/5. Although he
couldn't sustain his run coming off such a long layoff and having to deal with
Mind Your Biscuits, he still ran his next quarter in :24 1/5 and came home his
final eighth in under :12 3/5 to finish second, while holding off 5-2 second
choice Honorable Duty, last year's Lukas Classic winner and runnerup in this
year's grade 1 Stephen Foster.</p>
<p>Can you
imagine a horse actually winning the Classic, or even just running in it, four
years after getting beat a nose and having only three races in all that time?
This is an amazing story and an equally amazing horse, who is more than capable
of winning the Classic if he can move forward off this latest performance. A
great deal of credit goes to trainer Jamie Osborne for having this 7-year-old
primed and ready for such a big effort.</p>
<p>So, now you
know what is meant by the term mish mash. Who knows what's going to happen in
the Classic, especially when you throw in Travers winner Catholic Boy and Woodward winner Yoshida, both
converted grass horses, and McKinzie, who returned off a layoff to win the Pennsylvania Derby. And don't forget the John Gosden-trained Roaring Lion, who came up a bit short in the English Derby going 1 1/2 miles, but has since rattled off victories in the Eclipse Stakes, Juddmonte International, and Irish Champion Stakes, all at 1 1/4 miles or 1 5/16 miles. He certainly has to be considered a Classic possibility. Whether this year's race lives up to its billing or not, it's still
one of the most intriguing and perplexing races seen in a long time with angles
galore.</p>
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<![endif]--><p>&nbsp;</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648982" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cup ClassicMendelssohnDiversifyAccelerateLukas ClassicSizing Up Secretariat's Competitionhttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/24/sizing-up-secretariat-s-competition.aspxMon, 24 Sep 2018 14:28:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648976emorgan0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648976http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/24/sizing-up-secretariat-s-competition.aspx#comments<p>
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</p><p>Saturday will mark the 45th anniversary to the day of
Secretariat's defeat at the hands of Prove Out in the Woodward Stakes. I have
written extensively about Prove Out and how that upset came about, calling him
an unbeatable horse on that day and on Jockey Club Gold Cup day when he crushed
Riva Ridge, running the two miles in a time that was bested only by Kelso.</p>
<p>Secretariat was totally under-trained for the Woodward,
working slowly on the grass while pointing for his grass debut in the Man
o'War. And using today's terminology, he "bounced" to the moon coming back only
two weeks after breaking a world record in the Marlboro Cup, while substituting
for Riva Ridge, who was scratched because of the sloppy track.</p>
<p>Over the years, we really have never assessed the true
talent of Secretariat's competition throughout his career. Yes, we always
compare Big Red to his main rival Sham, who would have been a superstar in any
other year. And occasionally we casually mention that he did defeat Forego in
the Kentucky Derby, well before Forego became Forego. And, of course, we all
know that he defeated Riva Ridge in the inaugural Marlboro Cup. That is quite a
talented trio right there. But what of his competition at 2 and pre-and post-Triple
Crown? Do we really know much about the horses he defeated? And for that
matter, do we really know much about Onion, who shocked the world by upsetting
Secretariat in the Whitney when Big Red was incubating a virus that would keep
him out of the Travers Stakes, or about his stablemate Angle Light, who knocked
off Secretariat and Sham in the Wood Memorial?</p>
<p>How many people know anything about Secretariat's first
stakes appearance, the Sanford at Saratoga? For example, raise your hand if you
knew that Big Red wasn't even favored in that race, despite his lofty
reputation, coming off back-to-back victories, and going off at 2-5 in his
previous start.</p>
<p>That honor went to <b>LINDA'S
CHIEF</b>. To demonstrate the magnitude of Secretariat's victory and the
quality of the horse he defeated by three widening lengths, Linda's Chief went
into the Sanford undefeated in five starts and having already won the Youthful
Stakes at Belmont and the Juvenile and Tremont Stakes at Aqueduct. The race
following the Sanford, he broke the track record at Belmont for 6 1/2 furlongs.
Facing Secretariat again in the Champagne Stakes, he finished 11 lengths behind
Big Red, who eventually was disqualified, despite being much the best.</p>
<p>Sent to Santa Anita for his 3-year-old campaign and turned
over to Bobby Frankel, Linda's Chief won the San Miguel by 3 1/2 lengths, was
beaten a neck by the top-class Ancient Title in the San Vicente, and then won
an allowance race by four lengths, defeated Ancient Title by five lengths in
the one-mile San Jacinto Stakes in a track record 1:33 4/5, and beat Ancient
Title again by three lengths in the San Felipe Stakes. Finishing fourth in the
San Felipe, beaten 7 3/4 lengths, was a colt riding a four-race winning streak,
including the Santa Catalina Stakes, named Sham.</p>
<p>Linda's Chief and Sham then hooked up in the Santa Anita
Derby, with Linda's Chief the 3-5 favorite. Linda's Chief broke from post 5 in
the six-horse field, with Sham's stablemate Knightly Dawn outside him in post
6. At the start, Knightly Dawn came in sharply and repeatedly on Linda's Chief,
and as the footnotes said, "Linda's Chief, taken in hand when intimidated after
the break..." Sham went on to win by 2 1/2 lengths over Linda's Chief. That race
and the so-called tactics by trainer Frank Martin would infuriate Frankel even
years later just thinking about it. To his credit, however, Sham did run the
mile and an eighth in a blazing 1:47 flat, three-fifths off the track record.</p>
<p>Linda's Chief would skip the Kentucky Derby, but went on to
win the California Derby, Withers Stakes, Arlington Grand Prix, and Saranac
Stakes.</p>
<p>The horse who was placed first in the Champagne was <b>STOP THE MUSIC</b>. To demonstrate
Secretariat's superiority over the Greentree Stable colt, he defeated the son
of Hail to Reason in the Futurity, Hopeful, and Laurel Futurity, the last two
by five and eight lengths. Stop the Music would go on to set a new track record
of 1:33 3/5 for a mile at Belmont, win the Dwyer Handicap, and finish second in
the Travers, Vosburgh Handicap (to Forego), Carter Handicap (beaten a head by
Forego), Met Mile, Withers (to Linda's Chief), and third to Forego in the
Brooklyn Handicap and third in the Whitney.</p>
<p>There is not much of a gauge one can get on the quality of <b>CHAMPAGNE CHARLIE</b>, who Secretariat defeated
by 4 1/2 lengths in the Bay Shore Stakes and three lengths in the Gotham, in
which he equaled the track record of 1:33 2/5, other than to say the son of
Northern Dancer was in good form coming off a victory in the six-furlong Swift
Stakes, the first of four Derby preps in New York.</p>
<p>As everyone is well aware, Secretariat, along with Sham, was
upset in the Wood Memorial by of all horses, <b>ANGLE LIGHT</b>. But not much is really known about Big Red's
stablemate, such as the fact he had already faced Secretariat three times
before the Wood, finishing second to him in the Garden State Stakes. As a
3-year-old, Angle Light was no slouch, finishing second in the Bahamas Stakes
at Hialeah; third, beaten a neck, in the Flamingo Stakes; won a one-mile
allowance race at Aqueduct by 10 lengths; and was third, beaten one length, in
the Louisiana Derby.&nbsp;
</p><p>If there is one thing you can say about Secretariat, with
the exception of Prove Out, Big Red came back to demolish every horse that beat
him. In Angle Light's case, he had finished 22 lengths behind Secretariat in
the Champagne, 16 lengths behind him in the Laurel Futurity, 3 1/2 lengths behind
him in the Garden State, and then finished 21 lengths behind him in the
Kentucky Derby. So, there is no reason not to believe that Secretariat did, as
reported, have an abscess in his mouth in the Wood and was in pain grabbing
hold of the bit. Horses just don't run that dull in one race for no reason and
then come back and set track records in all three Triple Crown races.</p>
<p>Moving on to the Triple Crown and the subsequent Arlington
Invitational, the only horses worth mentioning other than <b>SHAM</b> and <b>FOREGO</b> are <b>OUR NATIVE</b>, <b>MY GALLANT</b>, <b>ROYAL AND REGAL</b>,
and <b>SHECKY GREENE</b>.</p>
<p>Royal and Regal was a fast colt sprinting and routing who
won the seven-furlong Bahamas in 1:22 flat and the Florida Derby in 1:47 2/5,
defeating Forego by three lengths. Finishing fourth and fifth, respectively,
were Our Native and My Gallant.</p>
<p>Our Native was a tough, hard-knocking colt who ran 33 times
at 2 and 3, and is best known for finishing third in the Kentucky Derby and
Preakness, beaten 11 lengths in each race. He and My Gallant engaged in a
torrid stretch battle in the Blue Grass Stakes, with 14-1 My Gallant beating
8-1 Our Native by a head, with 5-2 favorite Forego finishing fifth. </p>
<p>My Gallant, after being beaten 21 lengths in the Derby,
skipped the Preakness and prepped for the Belmont Stakes by defeating older
horses, including 1970 Travers winner Loud, by 2 1/2 lengths in a 1 1/8-mile
allowance race at Belmont.</p>
<p>Following the Belmont, he would again get the better of Our
Native in the Arlington Invitational, finishing second, a half-length in front
of his rival, but nine lengths behind Secretariat. His best efforts after that
were second-place finishes behind Forego in the Roamer and Discovery Handicaps.</p>
<p>As for Our Native, he went into the Arlington Invitational
off a victory in the Ohio Derby over Forego's future nemesis Arbees Boy, and
would go on to win the Monmouth Invitational Handicap (now the Haskell),
defeating eventual Travers winner Annihilate ‘Em by a neck in a solid 1:48 3/5,
three-fifths off the track record.&nbsp;
</p><p>Also finishing behind Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby was
Shecky Greene, champion sprinter of 1973 with victories in the Hutcheson Stakes
and Kelso, Select, Midwest, Florida Breeders and Patuxent Handicaps, as well as
the Stepping Stone Purse. He showed he could carry his speed two turns, winning
the Fountain of Youth Stakes. He also finished second to the older King's
Bishop in the Fall Highweight Handicap under topweight of 137 pounds. </p>
<p>Before getting to Secretariat's fall races, we must
establish something about <b>ONION</b>, who
has on occasion been mistakenly regarded as a former claimer by those holding
Big Red's Whitney defeat against him. </p>
<p>Onion never ran in a claiming race, and although he was an
allowance horse for most of his career, he did finish second to King's Bishop
in the Carter Handicap in a blistering 1:20 2/5, finished second to the speedy
and classy Alfred Vanderbilt horse North Sea in the Paomonok Handicap in 1:09
3/5, and was a close third in the one-mile Westchester Handicap in 1:34 flat.
He also placed in a couple of other stakes and did finish fourth in the inaugural
Marlboro Cup. But he was never in better form than he was going into the
Whitney. Following his second in the Carter Handicap, in which he ran the
opening half in a brutal :44 1/5, he broke the track record for 6 1/2 furlongs
at Saratoga, winning by eight lengths in 1:15 1/5. He then, in typical Allen
Jerkens fashion, won the Whitney four days later.</p>
<p>Moving into the fall races, we, of course, have to start
with the Marlboro Cup and Big Red trying to bounce back from his illness. To
summarize what Secretariat accomplished in this race in addition to setting a new
world record of 1:45 2/5, he defeated two future Hall of Famers in <b>RIVA RIDGE</b> and <b>COUGAR II</b> and four champions in Riva Ridge, Cougar II, <b>KEY TO THE MINT</b> and <b>KENNEDY ROAD</b>. He defeated the winners
of the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Santa Anita Handicap, Woodward Stakes, Suburban
Handicap, Hollywood Derby, Hollywood Gold Cup, Blue Grass Stakes, Queens Plate,
Oak Tree Invitational, Hollywood Invitational, and San Juan Capistrano, as well
as two Travers winners, two Brooklyn Handicap winners, and two Whitney winners.
</p>
<p>Just touching one more time on Secretariat's Woodward
defeat, to those who felt Big Red laid an egg that day, despite having to come
back in only two weeks after his world-record Marlboro Cup and not having any
sharp dirt works, it must be noted that had <b>PROVE OUT</b> not been in the race,
Secretariat would have won by 11 lengths over champion and future Hall of Famer
Cougar II, running the second fastest mile and a half in Belmont history in the slop,
behind only his other-worldly Belmont victory. That's how big a race Prove Out
ran, and he came back and ran just as big a race in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Secretariat would then rebound off that race by setting a course record for a
mile and a half on the grass at Belmont, winning the Man o' War Stakes wire to
wire by five lengths in 2:24 4/5 in his grass debut. That means Secretariat set
a world record for 1 1/8 miles, finished second at 1 1/2 miles in the slop in
the third-fastest time in Belmont history, and set a new course record for 1
1/2 miles on grass...all in the span of 23 days. And remember, he went into the
Marlboro Cup coming off an illness that forced him to miss the Travers, so he
was even more ripe for a "bounce" coming out of the Marlboro Cup.</p>
<p>Finishing second to Big Red in the Man o' War was <b>TENTAM</b>, one of the most versatile
horses in the country, who had won the Met Mile, Governor Stakes (in 1:46 4/5)
Jim Dandy, and Toboggan Handicap and second in the Travers, Amory Haskell
Handicap and Jerome Handicap on dirt and won the United Nations and Bernard
Baruch Handicaps on grass. In the latter, he shattered the course record by
four-fifths of a second, covering the 1 1/8 miles in 1:45 2/5.</p>
<p>Finishing 7 1/2 lengths behind Tentam in the Man o' War was
Elmendorf's classy stayer <b>BIG SPRUCE</b>,
who would then finish second to Big Red in the Canadian International, beaten 6
1/2 lengths.</p>
<p>Big Spruce was another horse who was equally adept on both
grass and dirt. On grass, he won the San Luis Rey Stakes by 10 lengths and the
Lexington Handicap and finished second in the Washington D.C. International,
Canadian International twice, San Juan Capistrano, San Luis Rey, and Manhattan
Handicap. On dirt, he defeated Forego twice, in the Governor Stakes in 1:46 1/5
and Marlboro Cup in 1:46 3/5, and also captured the Gallant Fox twice. In the
D.C. International and his two Canadian Internationals, the only two horses to
finish in front of him were Hall of Famers Secretariat and Dahlia.</p>
<p>Also finishing well behind Secretariat in the Canadian
International, as well as the Marlboro Cup, was <b>KENNEDY ROAD</b>, champion in Canada at 2, 3, 4, and 5, including
Canadian Horse of the Year at 5. He captured the Queen Plate, Dominion Day
Handicap and other stakes in Canada, and won the Hollywood Gold Cup, San
Antonio Stakes, and San Diego Handicap in the United States.</p>
<p>So, that is quite a resume as far as the quality of Big
Red's competition, which included three future Hall of Famers. Many of the
horses he defeated either have been forgotten or are never mentioned anymore,
but they all combined to help define the legacy of Secretariat.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648976" width="1" height="1">SecretariatForegoShamStop the MusicChampagne CharlieLinda's ChiefAngle LightIs Larry Doing What's Best?http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/21/is-larry-doing-what-s-best.aspxFri, 21 Sep 2018 15:12:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648975emorgan0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648975http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/21/is-larry-doing-what-s-best.aspx#comments<p>
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</p><p>Larry Best's comments about pulling the brilliant Instagrand
out of training, his thoughts on the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown, and
admitting his decision overruled trainer Jerry Hollendorfer have created quite
a stir.</p>
<p>This is a lot more complex than people might think. First
off, Best spends a lot of money at the sales, and obviously is free to do what
he feels is best, stating that he goes by his gut, something that has gotten
him to where he is now.</p>
<p>As an old schooler, I have always been a firm believer in
building a racing foundation in a 2-year-old, not so much to win the Kentucky
Derby, but to enhance his chances of prolonging his career after the Kentucky
Derby and Triple Crown. That is when the foundation is necessary to enable a
horse to withstand the rigors of the Derby trail and Triple Crown and move forward off it. </p>
<p>In an era when we have lightly raced horses winning the
Derby, and, now, even the Triple Crown, it is natural for owners and trainers
to want to have a lightly raced horse on the Derby trail, believing it would
help prevent a horse from burning out too early and saving something for the
first Saturday in May. Many obviously believe a 2-year-old foundation is detriment to a
young horse.&nbsp;
</p><p>With that thinking, it seems more than a coincidence that
seven of the past 10 Kentucky Derby winners never won a race after the Triple
Crown, and five of those seven never won a race after the Derby. As mentioned
in my previous column, in the 1970s alone, Kentucky Derby winners Riva Ridge,
Secretariat, Foolish Pleasure, Bold Forbes, Affirmed, and Spectacular Bid all
won at least one sprint stakes as a 2-year-old.</p>
<p>With that said, I have also seen rare occasions when you
have a horse come along that is, as the old saying goes, "Too fast to last."
Even the all-time greats usually progressed at 2, getting better with each
start, even if they won first time out. Many did not. But once in a while you
came across a horse so fast and so brilliant he took everyone's breath away,
winning by the length of the stretch in fast time. If he followed that by
moving up in class and once again blowing the doors off his opponents, then you
had better start pondering his future and figuring out how to slow down this
missile. </p>
<p>I have seen a number of these "Too fast to last" youngsters,
such as Graustark, Hoist the Flag, Raise A Native, and Danzig. All came out
like gangbusters, running a hole in the wind, and all broke down either as
2-year-olds or before the Derby. Ironically, all became top-class sires. Those horses, however, were not subjected to the 2-year-old sales as Instagrand was. Many of those 2-year-olds who work blistering times often need time to develop, mature, and control their speed if they want to have an extended career.<br></p>
<p>It is extremely rare to see a horse like Instagrand, who won
his debut by 10 lengths in a blazing :56 flat for five furlongs. He then moved
up in class in the grade 2 Best Pal Stakes and won that by 10 1/4 lengths under
a hand ride in 1:10 1/5, coming home his last quarter in a scintillating
:23.73.</p>
<p>Being by Into Mischief, there are no guarantees he is even a
Derby horse. But if you're going to try to harness some of that speed, you sure
don't want him to continue running races like that. A horse that precocious and
that fast, and by that sire, is not what you look for in a Derby horse. Best is
not even that interested in the Derby at this point, but if Instagrand does make it to Churchill
Downs, he has no desire to continue through the Triple Crown, preferring
instead to point long-range toward the Travers and hopefully a 4-year-old
campaign.</p>
<p>Best said he is going by his gut, but the bottom line is
that all horses are different and meant to do different things and take
different paths. And from what we have seen so far from Instagrand, I don't see
how anyone can criticize his decision, which at this point seems to be what is
best for the horse, as much of a cliché as that may be.</p>
<p>Best spent $1.2 million to obtain the colt as a 2-year-old, so you can only imagine how fast he worked, especially considering he was
purchased as a yearling for only $190,000. That is quite a pinhook. The last
thing Best wants with an investment this large, or any investment, is to have a horse who is "Too
fast to last."</p>
<img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648975" width="1" height="1">jerry hollendorferHoist the FlagLarry Best' GraustarkInstagrandStage One on the Kentucky Derby Trail Completehttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/19/stage-one-on-the-kentucky-derby-trail-complete.aspxWed, 19 Sep 2018 14:51:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648972Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648972http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/19/stage-one-on-the-kentucky-derby-trail-complete.aspx#comments<p>There have always been three stages when it comes to the Kentucky Derby trail. But they have changed dramatically over the years.</p>
<p>The first stage, and the one that has become antiquated in this era of late developers, lightly raced horses, and nagging 2-year-old setbacks is the 2-year-old sprint stage that used to serve as the launching pad for most Derby horses. Way back when at a time that seems like the dark ages to today’s younger racing fans, Derby contenders often were seen already competing in sprint stakes like the Hopeful, Futurity, Cowdin, Sapling, Hollywood Juvenile Championship, Del Mar Futurity, Arlington-Washington Futurity, Sanford, Saratoga Special, Tremont, Flash Stakes, Youthful Stakes, World’s Playground Stakes, Great American Stakes, and National Stallion Stakes. In the 1970’s alone, Kentucky Derby winners Riva Ridge, Secretariat, Foolish Pleasure, Bold Forbes, Affirmed, and Spectacular Bid all won at least one of the aforementioned sprint stakes.</p>
<p>Once the 2-year-olds would sort themselves out in these stakes, they moved on to the stakes run at a mile or longer, such as the Champagne, Garden State Stakes, Pimlico-Laurel Futurity, Remsen, Breeders’ Futurity, Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, Young America Stakes, and in more recent years, the Norfolk Stakes (changed to the FrontRunner and now the American Pharoah), Hollywood Futurity (now the Los Alamitos Futurity), and Iroquois Stakes. That pretty much has remained the same with the exception of the addition in 1984 of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, which now usually is the championship decider. It used to be the Champagne that decided the 2-year-old championship, and in some cases the rich Garden State Stakes.</p>
<p>Then came the final stage – the 3-year-old stakes leading to up to the Derby. But back then, sprint stakes like the Bahamas, Bay Shore, Hutcheson, San Vicente, Los Feliz, and Hibiscus were important steps on the Derby trail, as they were excellent starting off points for trainers to sharpen a horse before plunging into the major two-turn stakes. Some top Derby contenders even started off in allowance sprints. Unfortunately, today, with the point system instituted to qualify for the Derby, those sprint stakes are now considered worthless as Derby preps by Churchill Downs, and none of them offer any points, which forces the vast majority of trainers with Derby hopefuls to abandon them completely. </p>
<p>So, while there still are the three stages leading up to the Kentucky Derby, they bear little resemblance to the past, due in good part to the point system, which is designed to bring only the most accomplished two-turn horses into the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. That has all but eliminated the entire aspect of sharpening horses at 3 before throwing them into two-turn competition right from the start.</p>
<p>With the official Derby Dozen starting in mid January every year, and Stage 1 basically completed, let’s see if we can attempt to find any potential Kentucky Derby contenders who have competed in the 2-year-old sprint stakes, just like racing fans from yesteryear used to do.</p>
<p>This is not about who won what races and how impressive they were. It is about which horses have looked like Derby horses so far, based on their performances combined with their running style and pedigrees. </p>
<p>It is not surprising that Bob Baffert holds the strongest hand with five potential Derby prospects already, all with excellent pedigrees. They are Del Mar Futurity winner <b>GAME WINNER</b> (by Candy Ride)), Del Mar Futurity third and beaten favorite <b>ROADSTER</b>&nbsp; (by Quality Road), and three impressive maiden winners <b>MUCH BETTER</b> (by Pioneer of the Nile), <b>MAGIC ON TAP</b> (by Tapit), and <b>TALE OF THE UNION</b> (by Union Rags). Despite Game Winner breaking his maiden first time out by 5 3/4 lengths, Baffert removed the blinkers for the Del Mar Futurity. He had put the speed in him to get his maiden, but after battling head and head with three horses in :22 2/5, Baffert obviously tried to get him to relax and, without the blinkers, Game Winner sat back in fourth in the Del Mar Futurity, five lengths off the lead, raced wide the entire way and ran down Rowayton in the final sixteenth to win going away by 1 1/2 lengths.</p>
<p>Staying out west, Jerry Hollendorfer has sent out several youngsters with exceptional speed who still have to prove they can carry that speed two turns. The most brilliant 2-year-old seen all year is <b>INSTAGRAND</b> (by Into Mischief), who has won both his starts by double-digit margins, including the Best Pal Stakes. But as sensational as Into Mischief has been as a sire, his offspring, especially the extremely fast ones, still have to prove themselves over a distance of ground. Instagrand is a complete outcross with several stamina influences in his female family. Hollendorfer also has the speedy Del Mar Futurity runner-up <b>ROWAYTON</b> (also by Into Mischief), and <b>GUNMETAL GRAY</b> (by Exchange Rate), a 6 3/4-length maiden winner. But none of these shout Derby horse to me, at least at this stage of their careers.</p>
<p>Also loaded with hot prospects is Chad Brown, and heading his list is one of the best Derby prospects I’ve seen so far, <b>AURELIUS MAXIMUS,</b> a son of Pioneerof the Nile, out of a mare by champions A.P. Indy and Queena. This family traces to grade 1 winner&nbsp; and great producer Too Chic, a daughter of the King Ranch filly Remedia, who is by Dr. Fager out of the sensational European champion Monade. Aurelius Maximus looked like a runner breaking his maiden going a mile at Belmont Park, winning by 7 3/4 lengths under wraps. Others to keep an eye on in Brown’s barn are maiden winners <b>NETWORK EFFECT</b> (by Mark Valeski), <b>STANDARD DEVIATION </b>(by Curlin), who rated beautifully first time out before drawing off to win by 2 3/4 lengths, <b>COMPLEXITY</b> (by MacLean’s Music), who blazed six furlongs in 1:09 3/5, winning by 4 1/2 lengths, and <b>LOOKING AT BIKINIS </b>(by Lookin At Lucky), who wired his field by almost six lengths. Look for <b>AHEAD OF PLAN</b> (by Big Drama) to break his maiden next time out after getting nailed on the wire by the extremely promising Endorsed. Yes, these are all trained by Chad Brown, not Todd Pletcher. </p>
<p>Speaking of <b>ENDORSED</b>, this Kiaran McLaughlin-trained son of Medaglia d’Oro is another I rank very highly as a Derby prospect the way he relentlessly ran down a sure winner in Ahead of Plan. From a visual standpoint, he looks to have all the tools to go along with a strong pedigree.</p>
<p>If I had to rank a No. 1 horse for the Derby at this early stage it would be Hopeful runner-up <b>MUCHO</b>, who broke his maiden in devastating fashion by 9 3/4 lengths, eased up at the end, and then ran a strong second to Monmouth shipper Mind Control, who led from the start in the Hopeful. Despite bobbling at the break and racing wide throughout, Mucho ran on strongly in the final eighth to miss by three-quarters of a length in a sharp 1:22 4/5. And there is no doubt that the farther he goes the better, being by BC Classic winner Blame and inbred a close 3x3 to the top-class Claiborne mare Bound, a daughter of Nijinsky who produced the dams of Mucho’s sire and dam. This gives him the much coveted Rasmussen Factor (RF). Bound is a half-sister to Nureyev and Fairy Bridge, the dam of Sadler’s Wells, and a full-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Number. So far, Mucho, who has the class, the looks, and the pedigree, is the closest thing I’ve seen to the perfect package.</p>
<p>Mucho’s trainer Bill Mott also has Sapling winner<b> UNIONIZER </b>(by Union Rags), and you don’t often see Mott with two juveniles this strong at this early date.</p>
<p><b>MIND CONTROL</b> shipped to Saratoga after breaking his maiden by three lengths. There is no doubting his tenacity, as he dueled with the speedy Nitrous through a half in :45 3/5 and had enough left to hold off Mucho. He has battled on the lead in all three of his starts and we’ll have to see how far he can carry his speed, despite his sire Stay Thirsty winning the Travers and just getting beat at the wire in the Belmont Stakes. </p>
<p><b>NITROUS</b> is one of several runners from the Steve Asmussen barn, along with Saratoga Special and Iroquois runner-up <b>TIGHT TEN</b> (by Tapit), Ellis Park Juvenile winner <b>TOBACCO ROAD</b> (by Quality Road), and Ellis Park Juvenile runner-up and Sanford third <b>WHISKEY ECHO</b> (by Tiznow), who should want more distance.</p>
<p>Although the Iroquois is at a flat mile and not part of this group of sprint races, I’ll just mention the winner <b>CAIRO CAT</b> (by Cairo Prince), trained by Kenny McPeek, who also is high on first-out winner <b>SIGNALMAN</b> (by General Quarters).</p>
<p>Mention must be made of Saratoga Special winner <b>CALL PAUL</b> (by Friesan Fire), who, like so many at the Spa, won wire-to-wire. He has a long way to go to prove he’s a Derby horse.</p>
<p>I don't know how far <b>TROPHY CHASER </b>can carry his blazing speed, but his maiden score at Gulfstream was a real eye opener, as the son of Twirling Candy crushed his opponents by 15 3/4 lengths in 1:09 2/5 in the slop. Athough his broodmare sire, Successful Appeal, is known more for speed than stamina, the rest of this colt's female family is loaded with stamina. </p><p>Todd Pletcher, who didn’t have much in the way of 2-year-olds at Saratoga, had one horse of note, <b>SOMBEYAY</b>, winner of the Sanford Stakes, who could do no better than fourth in the Hopeful. A horse to watch coming out of the Sanford could be the narrowly beaten runner-up <b>STRIKE SILVER</b>, a Mark Casse-trained son of Violence, who has a ton of pedigree top and bottom. Also keep an eye on Casse’s <b>DREAM MAKER</b>, despite his fifth-place finish in the Hopeful. The son of Tapit is much better than that and should show big improvement next time out.</p>
<p>Churchill Downs had its first big day for 2-year-olds on Iroquois day, with a pair of six-furlong maiden races and a pair of one-mile maiden races. No one really jumped off the screen, and there are major distance question marks regarding the two six-furlong winners, <b>DISTORTED JIMMY</b> and <b>PREAMBLE</b>, but it is worth keeping an eye on the Dale Romans-trained <b>MOONSTER</b> (by Malibu Moon), who looked good winning at a mile, running three-fifths faster than <b>BORRACHO</b> (by Uncle Mo) in the other division.</p>
<p>So, now it’s on to Stage 2 and the big races at a mile or longer. But judging from the recent trend, especially with Justify writing a new chapter on Derby preparation, there is a good chance the Derby winner has not yet been seen on the racetrack, and may not be until next year. But that doesn’t stop us from looking.</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648972" width="1" height="1">bob baffertTriple Crownderby dozenKentuckky DerbyMoonsterMuch BetterSignalmanDistorted JimmyMuchoEndorsedRoadsterDream MakerMagic On TapGame WinnerMind ControlStrike SilverSombeyayUnionizerAurelius MaximusCairo CatTale of the UnionNitrousPreambleCall PaulInvasor Flourishing Back Home in Uruguayhttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/14/invasor-flourishing-back-home-in-uruguay.aspxFri, 14 Sep 2018 18:10:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648970Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648970http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/14/invasor-flourishing-back-home-in-uruguay.aspx#comments<p>When I visited Haras Cuatro Piedras in Uruguay in 2008, I couldn’t have imagined the farm would one day be home to Smarty Jones for several years and then the country’s greatest equine hero, Hall of Famer Invasor, who at the time was residing at Shadwell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.</p>
<p>Invasor never developed into a top stallion in the United States, due no doubt to a pedigree considered unfashionable, with a predominantly South American female family, and the horse committing the cardinal sin in this country – excelling at a mile and a quarter.</p>
<p>I guess it was only fitting that a horse who had been worshipped, not only in Uruguay, but his place of birth, Argentina, return home to a hero’s welcome.</p>
<p>Judging from recent photos and videos of Invasor, it is apparent from his radiant coat and overall demeanor he is happy and thriving.</p>
<p>“He looks incredible,” said Cuatro Piedras owner Claudia Rosas. “We sold his first crop this year in May, and we are looking forward to seeing them on the racetrack. We cover 25 mares every year with Invasor and 15 mares from other farms, an average of 40 mares each year. </p>
<p>“Many people from other countries that visit Uruguay come to the farm to meet him. He is so special and he loves having his picture taken.”</p>
<p>Kent Barnes, stallion manager at Shadwell Farm, traveled with Invasor to Uruguay. "He was a fun horse to work with and certainly had a unique personality," he said. "I was amazed at the huge turnout on a rainy night at Maronas (Racetrack) when we paraded him in front of the grandstand. He is the country's greatest sports hero and it looked like half of Montevideo turned out that night to see him. When his breeding days are over, he will return to Shadwell Farm to enjoy his retirement."<br></p><p>Seeing the photos and the beautifully produced video of him at stud and showing his major victories, it brought back a flood of memories. </p>
<p>As a reminder, Invasor won 11 of his 12 career starts for earnings of&nbsp; over $7.8 million. He captured group or grade I stakes on three continents, was Horse of the Year on two continents, a Triple Crown winner in Uruguay, a Breeders’ Cup Classic-Dubai World Cup winner, the winner of six consecutive grade 1 stakes (Pimlico Special, Suburban Handicap, Whitney Handicap, Breeders’ Cup Classic, Donn Handicap, and Dubai World Cup), and likely would have broken Cigar’s all-time earnings record had he stayed sound. But a fracture suffered in his final work for the Suburban Handicap forced his retirement.</p>
<p>Invasor was one of the classiest, most intelligent horses I’ve ever been around. As you walked in trainer Kiaran McLaughlin’s barn at Belmont Park, the first face you saw was Invasor, with that big eye of his looking right at you. You rarely had to get his attention. He usually was right there with his head over the webbing as if he were expecting you.<br>
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He could hone in on a mint a hundred yards away. And when freelance photographer Dianne Boothe, whom I would meet there every Saturday like clockwork, showed up, he knew from the far-off sound of her voice that his sweet tooth was about to be pacified. <br>
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He loved the attention, but also felt compelled to take a nip at you on occasion, especially when you had the audacity to run out of goodies. When Jeannine Edwards of ESPN showed up the day of the Jockey Club Gold Cup to do a segment on him having to miss the race due to illness, she used a token mint to get his attention, but paid the price when she turned to the camera and ignored him. If he wasn’t going to get another mint, he was going to let her know of his displeasure. To his credit, he could have nailed her good, but held back, getting mostly material from her jacket.<br>
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Because his craving for mints had gotten out of hand over the winter, Dianne was asked by assistant trainer Artie Magnuson, with whom we had become friendly, to refrain from giving him any, sticking to carrots only.<br>
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By the time he was moved to a new stall, on the other side of McLaughlin’s office, following his return from Dubai, Invasor had come up with a new routine, one which was unlike anything we had ever seen. As soon as we approached, Dianne would point to his hay net. Invasor, on cue, would reach over and grab a large chunk of hay, and after stuffing as much as he could in his mouth, he would freeze in that position, with his mouth still locked onto the hay net. He then would turn his eye toward us. It hadn’t taken Dianne long to realize that this was his invitation to be petted, and as long as you’d pet him he’d remain in that odd position without moving. Once you stopped, he’d wait a few seconds and either let go of the hay or rip out a hunk and drop it on the floor. If you pointed to his hay net, he would begin the routine all over again.<br>
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Now, I don’t claim to be a horse whisperer or equine psychologist, but I do have a bizarre theory about this behavior. We knew Invasor likes to bite, without being vicious in any way. Perhaps it is more like teething than anything else or an aggressiveness or territorial dominance that needed to come out. We also knew he loved attention and being petted. Now, the only way he could get that attention without biting the hand that was petting him was to occupy his mouth with something else at the same time. It was obvious he had an agenda, because he sure had no interest in eating the hay.<br>
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Can a horse think in those kinds of terms? I have no idea, and admit I could be guilty of anthropomorphism, and a touch of romanticism. But we’re all guilty of that to a degree as we always humanize horses.. That’s what made the times spent with Invasor in his barn all the more special. Sure, all the idealistic and romanticized theories mentioned earlier likely have more rational explanations. But, honestly, in today’s high-tech, analytic world, don’t you wish they didn’t?</p>
<p>The point of all this is, Invasor was unlike any horse I’ve ever encountered. He was special in a unique way. He had an “intelligence” and a presence about him that set him apart. He wasn’t the fastest horse; he wasn’t the most powerful horse; and he didn’t blow you away with an explosive move. But he knew how to beat you. And he did it with perhaps the most potent weapon of all – class. Being around him as often as I was, I believe he knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it, whether it was on the racetrack or in his stall. </p>
<p>My most special memory of Invasor was being in the winner’s circle following his victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, in which he upset the heavily favored Bernardini, despite not having raced for three months; the only horse ever to win the Classic off that long a layoff.<br>
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If there is anyone who typifies the effect Invasor had on people, it is his former owner in Uruguay, Pablo Hernandez,&nbsp;who became the horse’s one-man groupie, following him all over, from Dubai to Kentucky and back to Dubai. And now to Kentucky. No one was more jubilant following the Classic than Hernandez, who made the trip with several fellow Urugayans. In the winner’s circle, his clothes and hair were disheveled from all the hugging and kissing as he proudly waved the Uruguayan flag. Argentinians also celebrated the “Horse of the Rio de la Plata" (the river that separates Uruguay and Argentina).<br>
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A melting pot of humanity had converged on the Churchill Downs winner's circle, where Americans and Arabs and South Americans hugged and kissed each other. And from out of the bedlam, came the chant of "Een-vah-SOR! Een-vah-SOR!" with a delirious Hernandez, accompanied by eight of his friends from Uruguay, proudly holding the Uruguayan flag over his head. Joining in the celebration were media members from Argentina, where Invasor was bred. <br>
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”This is unbelievable,” Pablo shouted above the din. “This is the greatest experience of my life, and always will be. Invasor is still in the hearts of everyone in Uruguay. We are a small, modest country, and we need an idol. We have no idol in football and no idol in politics. Invasor is the idol of Uruguay.” <br>
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Also sharing in the glory was Diego Mitagstein, the pedigree consultant for Turf Diario in Argentina. <br>
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”I can't speak--my heart," he said. “Bayakoa won the Distaff twice and Paseana won the Distaff, but this is the Classic at Churchill Downs, the home of the biggest race in America.”</p>
<p>Also cheering wildly for Invasor were thousands of racing fans who had flocked to Maronas Racetrack in Uruguay, where Invasor made the first five starts of his career, including a sweep of the Triple Crown, before being sold to Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum. It was pure hysteria at the simulcast facilities at Maronas and San Isidro Race Course in Argentina, and at simulcast facilities in Montevideo.<br>
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It was by sheer accident and good fortune that Hernandez came to own Invasor, in partnership with brothers Juan Luis and Luis Alberto Vio Bado. He had flown to Argentina and was scheduled to take a small plane to La Biznaga Farm, where he was going to look at horses. But the plane had engine failure and the trip was canceled. A friend, Miguel Ezcurra, from Bullrich Auctioneers, took them by car to visit some smaller farms near Buenos Aires. After looking at approximately 80 colts and fillies at several farms they went to Haras Clausan in Areco, a province of Buenos Aires, and that's where they first laid eyes on a young Invasor. It was love at first sight. Pablo said it was as if he had been “hit with Cupid’s bow.” <br>
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Alessandro Miserocchi, owner of Haras Clausan, which has since been re-named Haras Santa Ines, was asking $25,000 for the horse. Hernandez and the Vio Bados offered $18,000, and both parties eventually settled for $20,000.<br>
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After Invasor swept the Uruguayan Triple Crown in brilliant fashion, winning all three races with ease, Hernandez and his partners were offered $1.5 million for the horse by Sheikh Hamdan. That was a great deal of money in Uruguay, considering Invasor's total earnings there were $114,070. It was hoped to run him in the country's big championship race, the Gran Premio Internacional Jose Pedro Ramirez, for 3-year-olds and up, but Shadwell's offer was too lucrative to turn down, although one of the Vio Bado brothers was reluctant to sell.</p>
<p> ”I am 42 years old and have faced many challenges and dilemmas in my life,” Hernandez explained. “But surely, the uncertainty of whether or not to sell Invasor gave me many sleepless nights. To be one of the co-owners of a Triple Crown winner is something that rarely happens to a Thoroughbred owner, especially in Uruguay. After so many decades of not having a Triple Crown winner, to suddenly realize that your horse has become a national hero to the enthusiastic Uruguayan racing fans is very shocking.” </p>
<p>In December of 2005, Hernandez was contacted by Shadwell, wanting to buy Invasor and fly him to Dubai for the UAE Derby. He had to make a quick decision and was advised by friends that it was something he couldn’t pass up.</p>
<p> ”It was not only about the money,” Hernandez said. “Here in Uruguay there isn't much possibility to develop a great champion, and I wanted to give him the best opportunity to prove that he was a great horse. We would never have been able to go with him to the United States to run; it is too expensive for us. So, I was backed into a corner. I had no other choice.</p>
<p> ”I have thousands of images of Invasor in my memory--some that make me weep and others that bring me much happiness. But the bitter memory is the day I had to say farewell to him after traveling with him on the van to the airport. It was a silent farewell, because inside our souls, none of us wanted Invasor leaving our lives. Every time he ran at Maronas, the fans filled the racetrack to watch him run and to try to touch him and take pictures with him. They even tried to get strands of his hair as a souvenir.</p>
<p> ”The day he departed reminded me of that day years ago when I, like many Uruguayans, emigrated to Europe. I had graduated from dentistry school and went to Spain for a post-graduate in dental surgery. I remember how my grandmother cried silently the day I left. I can understand how she felt, because I felt the same way the day I had to say goodbye to Invasor. It was like saying goodbye to a son you were never going to see again. Although the plane left very early in the morning, a lot of people showed up at the airport to say their goodbyes to Invasor.” </p>
<p>But that was not the last time Hernandez would see Invasor. He traveled to Dubai to watch him run in the UAE Derby, and, of course, he was at Churchill Downs to witness his horse and the pride of Uruguay become an international superstar and Horse of the Year on two continents. When Invasor added the Dubai World Cup the following year, he was crowned Horse of the World.</p>
<p>Ironically, when Invasor first arrived at Kiaran McLaughlin’s barn at Palm Meadows and stepped off the van, the first thought from everyone in the barn was, “What kind of allowance conditions can we find for him?” He was very light-framed and had a thick coat of hair. He was given UltraGard and GastroGard and the best of everything, including the best quality hay. No one at the barn could have imagined the magical ride the colt was about to take them on.</p>
<p>Because of my extensive writing about Invasor and the number of contacts and friends I made in Uruguay, I was invited there for the Ramirez and to visit a number of breeding farms, the first one being Cuatro Piedras, where, like the other farms, the red carpet was rolled out and a special lunch prepared with a number of guests attending. We were chauffered around, stayed at the finest hotels from Montevideo to the “Riviera of South America,” Punta del Este, to the small coastal town of Colonia, one of the most charming, colorful towns you’ll ever visit.</p>
<p>I can still envision the sights and hear the sounds of Maronas Racetrack after the Ramirez. The strains of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” blared over the public address system, as jockey Carlos Mendez, aboard Ramírez winner Rock Ascot, stood up in the saddle, flung his arms up in victory, and tossed rose petals from the victory blanket in the air. The massive crowd at Maroñas Racetrack let out a mighty roar to salute the victors. </p>
<p>With the music still resounding throughout the track, the winning connections—owner, breeder, trainer, and jockey and their friends and families—were driven in antique automobiles to the makeshift winner’s podium on the track in front of the grandstand. Alongside the podium was a mounted military band in decorative uniforms and cascos (headgear) playing drums, bugles, tubas, and other instruments.</p>
<p>With the fans, squeezed together, elbow to elbow, still applauding and taking pictures, the winners were presented their trophies. Standing along the rail, my wife and daughter and I were engulfed by the cheers, the music, and the on-track festivities. It was at this point that my daughter said, “All that’s missing are fireworks.”</p>
<p>Sure enough, seconds later, an explosion of fireworks from behind the podium lit up the darkening blue sky that had already become illuminated by the lights of the racetrack. It was a moment that was both spectacular and surreal—a fitting conclusion to a magical day that saw skydivers rain down on the racetrack carrying banners and flags. Several years ago, one skydiver actually landed on the back of a horse…on purpose. The spectacle of Ramírez day was obvious. The surrealism was due in part to the fact that we were in Uruguay, a country whose location I had to look up on a map.</p>
<p>Our trip, at the invitation of the Uruguayan Breeders’ Association, included visits to Punta del Este, where the rich and famous congregate each summer; the amazing Casapueblo, where nature and art meet to form a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, and images nestled along Uruguay’s tranquil coastline; and the historic, charming town of Colonia, where you can see spectacular sunsets and the lights from Buenos Aires across the Rio del la Plata that separates Uruguay and Argentina. Our home base, the capital city of Montevideo, has miles and miles of beaches that come alive each day with people jogging, walking, riding bicycles, sipping their mate, and strolling with their dogs along the palm tree-lined Rambla.</p>
<p>In addition to staying in five-star hotels, including the luxurious Conrad in Punta del Este, and being invited to lunch at some of the country’s most prominent breeding farms, I gave a 90-minute talk on Invasor to the media and racing officials at Maroñas that was shown on that night’s evening news, presented the trophy for one of the big stakes on Ramirez day, was interviewed by ESPN South America, had every want and need catered to, and, simply put, was treated like a rock star. It was at some point during the trip that it hit me. Everything I was experiencing was because of a horse. </p>
<p>From a personal standpoint, I never could have imagined how far the bond I formed with Invasor would take me. Because of this remarkable animal, I met many people in a faraway land that I now consider close friends. I discovered a new culture, new food, and a new, vibrant world of Thoroughbred racing that re-kindled the feelings I had for the sport back in the late 1960s, when all seemed so pure and innocent. </p>
<p>But most of all I discovered myself. Cloistered away in my home/office every day, I was reluctant to embark on such an adventure, and it was only after my wife’s constant urging and my daughter’s desire to go that I finally capitulated. So, my self-discovery was due in great part to them.</p>
<p>For Hernandez, it was a journey he will never forget, and it would be a joyous trip back to Montevideo following the Breeders’ Cup. But there still were moments of reflection as he looked back at the incredible saga of Invasor.</p>
<p> ”My partners are still sad,” he said in regard to selling the horse. “They are two old unmarried brothers who have lost the reason to go to the racetrack every weekend. I was melancholy, too, in the beginning, but we have made it possible for Invasor to become famous in the best place in the world. He's gone, but he remains a part of my life, and he will be mine in my heart forever.”</p>
<p>Now he is home, and if he never returns to the United States, it is reassuring to know he will have a great life among the people who still worship him. I know how he changed my life and enabled me and my family to experience a whole new world and special people, who became part of our lives. I still think of Uruguay often and cannot remove that one thought from my head: it was all because of a horse. Perhaps those are words everyone in the industry should remember. </p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648970" width="1" height="1">invasoruruguayHaras Cuatro PiedrasClaudia RosasBC Classic: To Prep or Not to Prephttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/13/bc-classic-to-prep-or-not-to-prep.aspxThu, 13 Sep 2018 17:27:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648969emorgan0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648969http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/13/bc-classic-to-prep-or-not-to-prep.aspx#comments<p>We have witnessed numerous changes in recent years in how
horses are prepared for major races. Three-year-olds race so infrequently now,
we hardly know anything about them when they get to Churchill Downs for the
Kentucky Derby, many coming off four-, five-, and six-week layoffs or more and
having made only two starts at 3. Some go into the race off only three or four
career starts.</p>
<p>With little interest nowadays in building a solid racing
foundation prior to the Derby, is it merely a coincidence that seven of the
last 10 Derby winners never won a race after the Triple Crown, and five of
those seven never won a race after the Derby.</p>
<p>The question that has to be asked now is, are trainers
beginning to take the same approach to the Breeders' Cup Classic, especially
with the recent success of horses skipping the traditional Classic prep races
and training up to the race?</p>
<p>Are we seeing a trend developing, with the Classic victories
of American Pharoah in 2015, Arrogate in 2016, and Gun Runner in 2017? American
Pharoah and Arrogate, both trained by Bob Baffert, scored impressive victories
in the Classic having last raced in the Travers Stakes, while Gun Runner won
the Classic not having run since the Woodward Stakes, the first horse to do so
since the Woodward was moved to Saratoga and run closing weekend. </p>
<p>Prior to the victories of these three champions, the only
horse to win the Classic without having raced after Labor Day was Hall of Famer
Invasor, who went into the Classic off the Whitney at Saratoga in early August,
and that was not an intended move by trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who had to
withdraw Invasor from the Jockey Club Gold Cup after the colt became ill
several days before the race.</p>
<p>When the Woodward was run at Belmont in mid-September, it
served as a steppingstone to the Classic for victors Saint Liam and
Ghostzapper.</p>
<p>Although Classic winners have used many different final
preps for the big race, they all made their final start from mid-September to
early October, with the two main final preps being the Jockey Club Gold Cup at
Belmont Park and the Awesome Again Stakes (formerly the Goodwood) at Santa
Anita.</p>
<p>Those using the Jockey Club Gold Cup were A.P. Indy, Cigar,
Skip Away, Curlin, Fort Larned, Blame and Drosselmeyer. The most recent three -
Fort Larned, Blame, and Drosselmeyer, didn't even win the Gold Cup.</p>
<p>Those using the Awesome Again/Goodwood were Ferdinand,
Alphabet Soup, Tiznow twice, Pleasantly Perfect, and Mucho Macho Man. Two of
them were beaten - Tiznow finishing third one year and Alphabet Soup finishing
first, but disqualified to third.</p>
<p>But history has shown us that Breeders' Cup Classic winners
can come from anywhere - the Pennsylvania Derby, Super Derby. Meadowlands Cup,
Kentucky Cup Classic, Hawthorne Gold Cup, Washington Park Handicap, Lady's
Secret Stakes, Col. F.W. Koester, Discovery Handicap, an allowance race, and
finally the Prix Dollar and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in France and England,
respectively. But all those races were run from mid-September to early-to-mid
October.</p>
<p>To show how prepping for the Breeders' Cup Classic has
changed since its early days, Proud Truth's final prep was only seven days
before the Classic; Wild Again's was 12 days; and Ferdinand and Alysheba were
21 days.</p>
<p>Getting Invasor to upset Jockey Club Gold Cup winner and heavy
favorite Bernardini in the 2006 Classic coming off a three-month layoff took an
extraordinary training job by McLaughlin. And give credit to Baffert and Steve
Asmussen, both Hall of Famers, for having American Pharoah, Arrogate, and Gun
Runner primed for big efforts without running in one of the traditional final
preps.</p>
<p>One of the reasons that Arrogate and Gun Runner went into
the Classic not having a final prep after Labor Day could be that, unlike past
years when horses were given time off following the Classic, Arrogate and Gun
Runner were being targeted for the new Pegasus World Cup in January and their
trainers didn't want to subject them to an extra race prior to the Classic,
thus assuring having a fresh horse for the outrageously rich Pegasus.</p>
<p>This year, the two favorites for the Classic look to be
Whitney winner Diversify and Pacific Classic winner Accelerate. With the
Whitney run early at Saratoga, Diversify, who skipped the Woodward, likely will
try for a repeat score in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, while Accelerate will prep
in the Awesome Again Stakes, according to co-owner Kosta Hronis. So, for the
two early favorites, it's back to the traditional preps.</p>
<p>Not so, however, with Travers winner Catholic Boy, who will
attempt to emulate the feats of American Pharoah and Arrogate by training up to
the Classic following a Travers victory. Trainer Jonathan Thomas said the son
of More Than Ready came out of the Midsummer Derby in great shape and has
maintained his weight.</p>
<p>"I'll look at American Pharoah and Arrogate and see how they
worked coming out of the Travers," Thomas said. "Not that I'll follow
everything they did. I do want to bring him to Churchill Downs and give him a
work over the track. If you look at his body of work before the Travers, he's a
very fit horse, and battling with Diversify in the Gold Cup with his style of
running would be like chasing a monster."</p>
<p>Not only will we have Catholic Boy trying to extend the new
current trend, there is a good chance that Woodward winner Yoshida will also
train up to the Classic.</p>
<p>Two other horses who need to be mentioned are the one-two
finishers of the Dubai World Cup, Thunder Snow and West Coast. The former was
up the track in the Juddmonte International on grass on August 22 in his only
start since the World Cup, but is a good possibiity for the Jockey Club Gold
Cup, and West Coast still has not run since Dubai and obviously would need a
prep. He has begun to pick up the tempo of his works, drilling five furlongs in
:59 4/5 last Sunday.</p>
<p>Another Classic contender, Mind Your Biscuits, will have his
final prep in the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on September 29.</p>
<p>So, if Diversify or Accelerate, or one of the others having
a prep race, win the Classic then it's back to the traditional way of preparing
for the race. But if Catholic Boy or Yoshida wins, then we really have to start
taking this new trend seriously.</p>
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<![endif]--><p>&nbsp;</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648969" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cup Classicbob baffertGun RunnerArrogateAmericacan PharoahThe Tuesday That Changed the Worldhttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/11/The-Tuesday-That-Changed-the-World.aspxTue, 11 Sep 2018 16:10:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648965Michelle Benson0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648965http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/11/The-Tuesday-That-Changed-the-World.aspx#comments<p>Not only is today the 17th anniversary of 9/11, it falls on the same day of the week; that infamous Tuesday. Although I have written about that catastrophic day’s effect on racing, it is something that needs to be addressed from time to time for those who weren’t around and those who need to be reminded of those two gut-wrenching months for the Sport of Kings, from September 11 through the Breeders’ Cup, run in New York. The stories have been melded together and reworked to portray the entire picture from beginning to end.</p><p>Two days before September 11, my family and I were returning from Lexington, Kentucky, where we attended “John Henry Day” at the Kentucky Horse Park. As the plane flew along the Hudson River to Newark Airport, out the window we could see the World Trade Center set aglow by the setting sun. It was a magnificent sight to see the two towers glistening like gold. Two days later they were gone.</p><p>The following Saturday, I decided to drive to Belmont Park, which had canceled racing, to see how the cataclysmic events of 9/11 had affected horsemen, and how everyone was dealing with this unthinkable tragedy.</p><p>Driving over the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn on the morning of Sept. 15, it was apparent why the New York Racing Association decided at the last minute to cancel racing until Sept. 19. Any thoughts of Belmont Park or Thoroughbred racing were obliterated by the sight of the seemingly naked skyline of Lower Manhattan off to the left and the deathly shroud that still hung over it. </p><p>The Statue of Liberty, once nestled under the shadow of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, now stood under an ominous ashen cloud that stretched across New York Harbor all the way to New Jersey.</p><p> After the initial shock of seeing nothing where the Twin Towers used to stand, one could only imagine and marvel at what was going on across New York Harbor, as so many heroes emerged, sacrificing their health and possibly their lives by digging through the graveyard of rubble. Family members of those working in or around the World Trade Center clung to the slim hope that perhaps their loved ones had miraculously escaped the tragedy, while many people chipped in to help in any way they could. One had to be amazed at how this mighty city could have both its arms ripped out and still retain its ability to embrace. </p><p>Throughout New York, millions of hands linked to form an unbreakable chain. Al I could think of as I drove over the bridge was knowing that beneath that gaping space where the World Trade Center once filled the sky, many of those hands scraped and clawed through tons of steel, oblivious to the crippled structures standing precariously above them. </p><p>With pride and sadness competing for dominance in the mind and heart, there was little room left for the celebrating of sports and entertainment. So, New York Racing Association officials decided at 10 a.m. Friday that the cheers and the trophies could wait.</p><p>Thoroughbred racing, like most everything, was a mere speck against the cataclysmic events of September 11, and New Yorkers were not quite ready for any diversions to take their mind off the horrific wounds that they, and all Americans, had suffered. </p><p>But life did go on at Belmont on that Saturday morning, as horses and horsemen went about their daily chores. Unlike other athletes across the country, Thoroughbreds had been oblivious to the darkest day in American history. There were no billowing black clouds of smoke or haunting images to obscure their view. They still saw the same wide open spaces before them and felt the same crisp breezes blowing in their face. And on Wednesday, when Belmont would reopen, just maybe, for a few hours, they would be able to help people see and feel something beautiful again after a week of unspeakable anguish. </p><p>“We understand we need to get back to normal, but unlike the other tracks that are racing, we're just so close to it,” NYRA president Terry Meyocks said. “There's so much tension around here, we felt it wasn't in the best interest of New York to conduct racing so quickly. We were going to race, but then baseball, football, golf, and NASCAR all canceled, and Friday was proclaimed a day of mourning. We’ve developed a good rapport with the communities over the years, and we realized that there's a lot more to life than racing this weekend. It just wasn’t the right thing to do. The employees and the horsemen are still pretty somber, and this will give them another weekend to be with friends and family.” </p><p> All around Belmont were sights and sounds that continued to pummel Tuesday’s disaster into our psyche. On the Belt Parkway, just outside the gates of Aqueduct, a funeral procession headed east, escorted by two police cars and a fire engine, strongly suggesting it was for one of the deceased firefighters. On the Staten Island Expressway, another police car escorted a dump truck, filled with debris from the World Trade Center, to the Great Kills dump. </p><p>At the Belmont stable gate, a sign was tucked into the window of the booth, showing the American flag, with the words “Pray For America.” <br></p><p>Media pins no longer wielded the same authority as before. “I can get that in a box of Cracker Jacks,” the security guard said. “Let me see the ID number on the back.” The guard, who wished to remain anonymous, later said, “You can imagine what it’s been like around here. It’s pretty morbid. But everyone has been showing solidarity. Everyone is proud to be an American. A lot of people were very upset when they originally announced they were going to race.” </p><p>Tony Pittelli, a security guard directing traffic inside the backstretch, was happy to see planes flying overhead once again. “The mood hasn’t been too good,” he said. “One of my sons lost his sister-in-law, and one of the riders here lost his son-in-law. His daughter and son-in-law had been married for two years and have a 1-year-old baby. Unbelievable. It’s just terrible.” </p><p>Buzz Tenney, assistant to Shug McGaughey, couldn’t believe how quiet the backstretch had been. “It feels like it does when a meet is over and you’re just hanging around waiting to move to the next track,” he said. “We're all going through our work, but there’s been only one topic of conversation.” </p><p>As Tenney spoke, the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow, who has been stabled in their barn, walked down the shed with Ramon Arciga aboard. The reigning Horse of the Year had been unable to return home to California following his third-place finish in the Sept. 8 Woodward Stakes. “We're stuck here,” Arciga said. “We were supposed to have left Wednesday, then again on Friday. Now they say Tuesday, but we're not sure when we'll be leaving.” </p><p>One barn that had been affected in a much different way is the Godolphin stable of Sheikh Mohammed. The Godolphin grooms are all Pakistanis, and they were told by assistant trainer Laurent Barbarin to keep a low profile. “It’s a very difficult situation,” Barbarin said. “I spoke to them and told them to stay quiet. It's safer for everybody. But we’re all holding up very well.” </p><p>Another trainer, Bobby Frankel, was scheduled to return to California on Monday, following You’s appearance in Sunday’s Matron Stakes. <br></p><p>“It’s tough getting a commercial flight, so I’ll stay through the week and leave after I run Squirtle Squirt in the Vosburgh Saturday,” he said. Frankel ran into racing secretary Mike Lakow, who was driving out of the stable area, and said about canceling the races, “You definitely did the right thing.” </p><p>Neil Howard, who had entered Secret Status in Saturday’s Ruffian Handicap, was also forced to remain in New York. He had originally been scheduled to fly out of LaGuardia to Louisville on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. “I'll just stay here for a while and point Secret Status for the Beldame. Even if we had won the Ruffian, how can you go in the winner’s circle and act happy?” </p><p>One person who was doing everything he could to offer assistance was veterinarian Russell Cohen, who purchased two dozen work gloves from True Value and several cases of soda, then brought them to the fire house on 48th Street and Seventh Avenue, which had lost 14 firefighters – one third of its entire crew. He also brought other goods to a police precinct in the Bronx. From 48th Street, he walked down to Canal Street, offering his services in case the police needed any assistance with their horses. </p><p>"There’s nothing much we can do, but every little bit helps,” Cohen said. “I’ve done work for the ASPCA before, and was on the Animal Planet (network) once, so a lot of the people know me. I just found out that one horse owner, a member of a syndicate, was killed at the World Trade Center. And there’s probably more that we don't know about.” </p><p>Returning back over the Verrazano, smoke from newly ignited fires continued to rise from the ashes of Lower Manhattan, adding to the hell-like conditions. But beneath the smoke, the Statue of Liberty could be seen, now sparkling like an emerald in the late morning sun, as if everything was normal.<br></p><p>In the weeks ahead, events began taking place back east that would set the stage for one of the greatest international spectacles in the history of the sport; the Breeders’ Cup, which was to be run at Belmont Park. There was talk about many of the Europeans not showing up. But Ballydoyle trainer Aidan O’Brien assured the Breeders’ Cup that he’d be there with his powerful arsenal. </p><p>The first indication that this would not be a normal Breeders' Cup came Oct. 11 when Sheikh Mohammed’s private 747 jet, which had departed Stanstead Airport in England at 1:30 p.m., touched down at JFK International Airport. On board were three of Godolphin's biggest stars -- the brilliant Sakhee, runaway winner of the Arc de Triomphe and Juddmonte International; the globe-trotting Fantastic Light, a major stakes winner in the United States, Ireland, England, Hong Kong, and Dubai, and third, beaten a neck, in the Japan Cup; and the top miler, Noverre, winner of the Sussex Stakes. </p><p>Awaiting the trio upon their arrival at the Saudi Arabian cargo terminal were two FBI agents, four customs agents, and three carloads of Port Authority police. The horses were vanned to Belmont, joining the other Godolphin horses under the care of head assistant Tom Albertrani. </p><p>The main question was: in which races would Sakhee and Fantastic Light be entered? It was assumed Sakhee would go for the Turf, with Fantastic Light, who had worked well over the Belmont dirt the year before, headed for the Classic. But Albertrani said he had a gut feeling it would be the other way around, with Godolphin attempting to make history by winning the Arc and the Breeders' Cup Classic with the same horse and in a span of only 20 days. A victory by Sakhee surely would make him the “Horse of the World.” </p><p>Godolphin also would be converging on Belmont Park from the opposite direction, with top-class 2-year-olds Tempera, Imperial Gesture, Essence of Dubai, and Ibn Al Haitham due to arrive from Eoin Harty's barn at Santa Anita. </p><p>A week before the Breeders’ Cup, a Sallee horse van rolled into the Belmont backstretch carrying two Breeders' Cup horses. The first off the van was the freshly clipped Caller One, a leading contender for the Sprint. After him came the familiar tornado-blazed face of Tiznow. <br></p><p>Despite a layer of dust that covered him after his long trip from California, the champ was bursting with dapples. The colt stopped to shake some of the dust off and was led into the grassy area behind Shug McGaughey's barn by exercise rider Ramon Arciga to unwind a little. <br></p><p>A few minutes later, the tranquility was interrupted by the muffled sound of Tom Durkin's voice calling that day's eighth race. In a flash, Tiznow's head sprang up. His eyes widened and he stood like a statue, with his ears cocked, staring off into the distance at the Belmont grandstand. It wasn't until the race was over and all was again quiet that he returned to grazing. </p><p>"He knows where the action is," Arciga said. "He knows something big is about to happen.” Arciga then turned to Tiznow and said, "Hey, Papa, we're gonna kick some butt, aren't we?" Tiznow then was led into his stall, took a roll in the wood shavings, and settled in to his new home for the week. </p><p>At 4:30 p.m. on October 22, an Air Transport International DC-8 taxied up to the same Saudi Arabian terminal at JFK. Veterinarian John Miller boarded the plane and took the blood on the seven Ballydoyle-trained horses arriving from Shannon Airport. The blood would then be flown by Lear Jet to Ames, Iowa, where lab technician John Eli would meet the plane and take the samples to the lab for analysis. Expediting the procedure would allow the Ballydoyle horses to clear quarantine by 10 p.m. the following day. </p><p>The Ballydoyle contingent was believed to be the most expensive shipment of Thoroughbred racehorses in history. An insurance company appraised their value at $200 million, with Galileo, winner of the English Derby, Irish Derby, and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, alone valued at $65 million. Also on board were the brilliant undefeated 2-year-old Johannesburg, St. Leger winner Milan, and top-class stakes horses Black Minnaloushe, Bach, Mozart, and Sophisticat. </p><p> About an hour after the arrival of the Ballydoyle horses, an Air France 747 pulled up to the Air France terminal, carrying three horses -- Banks Hill, Spring Oak, and Slew the Red, all trained by Andre Fabre in Chantilly. </p><p>This three-pronged European force would wind up winning an incredible $3,907,200 in Breeders' Cup purse money. </p><p>On Wednesday, Oct. 24, the morning of the entries, Godolphin sent shock waves rippling through the backstretch when it announced Fantastic Light would run in the Turf and Sakhee would go for the Classic in an attempt to climb Mt. Olympus and enter the pantheon of greats. </p><p>Breeders' Cup Day was unlike anything ever seen at a racetrack. Police dogs were used to search random automobiles entering the track parking lot. Soldiers were stationed throughout Belmont, armed with assault rifles. Snipers were positioned on the roof, observing the crowd with high-powered binoculars. The whole scene was surreal. </p><p>As part of the opening ceremonies prior to the races, dozens of jockeys, accompanied by members of the New York Police and Fire departments, lined up, each holding the flag of his country. The National Anthem was sung by Carl Dixon of the New York Police Department following a bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace." </p><p>On the racing front, Alastair Donald of the International Racing Bureau was expecting a big day from the powerful European brigade. "If we get our asses kicked, we'll have to think up some good excuses," he said. </p><p>Walking to the holding barn, Arciga spoke to Tiznow with reassuring words. The colt pinned his ears and "gave me that look," Arciga said. He had seen that same look a year earlier and a wave of confidence came over him. "I said to myself, 'We're gonna do it. I know we're gonna do it.'" </p><p>Fast forward to the running of the Classic, as the field nears the quarter pole. Albert the Great is trying to gut it out on the lead, with Tiznow right behind, but not threatening at this point. The all-too familiar silks of Godolphin emerge in the picture, as Sakhee comes charging up on the outside to take a narrow lead. Tiznow is now back in third and still not putting in much of a run, but moves into second when Albert the Great begins to drop back. Still, he appears beaten, as Sakhee has taken a half-length lead with less than a furlong to go. <br></p><p>McCarron thinks he’s beaten. Trainer Jay Robbins thinks he’s beaten. Owner Michael Cooper is still hoping his miracle horse could pull out another miracle, but just wants Tiznow to continue to battle. "When Sakhee went by him, I thought, 'Keep going, boy; keep going. Show him you got guts, anyway.'" <br></p><p>To racing fans across America, it was happening all over again, just like the previous year. America was a heartbeat away from being conquered in the Breeders' Cup Classic. This time, however, a defeat would have been an ignominious end to the 2001 Breeders’ Cup. First, it was a thrashing from the French in the Filly &amp; Mare Turf by Banks Hill. Then, it was the Irish who decimated the American youngsters in the Juvenile, as Johannesburg burst clear to win going away. Adding insult to injury, the Turf then went to the English, represented by Godolphin’s Fantastic Light, with the Irish colt Milan finishing off a one-two European coup-de-grace. </p><p>Sakhee, with immortality a mere furlong away, reached back to deal the fatal blow. But then something happened, something we'd seen before. Chris McCarron hit Tiznow once left-handed and he surged forward. Right before everyone's eyes, last year's Superman again took on the role of superhero, just as he had in the 2000 Classic when another European powerhouse, Giant's Causeway, dared to challenge America's dominance on dirt. </p><p>Tiznow’s back problems and erratic behavior that had plagued him all year were now behind him. All he needed was an opponent, apparently a European, to re-ignite the fire in his eyes. One look at Sakhee about to deal America another crushing defeat and Tiznow reached&nbsp;down into that indefinable reservoir we call heart, and in the shadow of the wire, was able to snatch victory away from Sakhee. <br></p><p>America, for a fleeting instant, was as she was before September 11-- untainted and impenetrable. The nation's fighting spirit that emerged in the face of disaster had manifested itself in the form of a magnificent, powerful Thoroughbred who simply refused to be defeated. </p><p>By thrusting his nose in front of Sakhee on the wire, a California-bred with relatively obscure bloodlines had become the first two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic. And he did it by defeating the greatest international field ever assembled for a dirt race. His victims included the winners of the English Derby, Irish Derby, Arc de Triomphe, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and Irish Two Thousand Guineas, as well as two Jockey Club Gold Cup winners. </p><p>In the stands, Sandy Robbins, wife of Jay Robbins, was in tears. Cooper’s legs went numb and he couldn’t walk for several minutes. He also couldn't help but think of his longtime partner and close friend, Cecilia Straub-Rubens. "She was such a special lady and a special friend," he said. "I wish she had been here to enjoy this. I think Tiz knew in spirit she was here, the way he came back and gutted it out right down on the line, kind of like the way she was, too. Who knows, it could have been Cee kicking him in the ass. I thought about her and thanked her. At least I know she went out with a big smile on her face.”</p><p> Frankie Dettori had nothing but praise for Tiznow, and tremendous admiration for his horse. "He's still a winner to me," he said. "For him to run like he did first time on dirt and having run three weeks ago in Paris, he must be a superstar. Full credit to Tiznow. He knuckled down and got me. He has a great reputation and a head like a dinosaur." </p><p>Godolphin assistant Laurent Barbarin put it best when he said of Sakhee, "He came a nose away from making history. It would have been something amazing, but we'll be back again." </p><p>Back at the barn, Tiznow immediately dove into a pile of alfalfa. Cooper&nbsp;called over to his trainer, "Hey, Robbins, you got the condition book. He's ready to go again." Tiznow was then treated to carrots, apples, and mints by his admiring family. McCarron showed up and wrapped his arms around Tiznow's massive neck. "You are the man!" he said. </p><p>As Cooper departed, he told Arciga and groom Carlos Aguilar, "Good night, guys. Once again, wonderful job. I know it hasn't been easy, but you did terrific. There will be Christmas again this year." </p><p> One of the last to leave was Robbins’s father Jack, a prominent veterinarian, who went over to Tiznow and said, "You got the job done, White Face. You did yourself proud." </p><p>It is now 17 years later. New York City has healed, and a magnificent new structure has been built at the site of the World Trade Center, dominating the Lower Manhattan skyline. Nearby, thousands of visitors visit the new spectacular 9/11 Museum each day.<br></p><p>As for Tiznow, he still resides at WinStar Farm and remains one of the country’s influential stallions, his same appearing in the pedigrees of a number of stakes winners. Yes, he still is the only horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic twice, but he will always be remembered as the horse who demonstrated to the world the courage and tenacity of the Thoroughbred…and the American spirit.<br></p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648965" width="1" height="1">Breeders' Cup ClassicTiznow9/11hangin with haskinSeptember 11Young Girl Finds a Hero in Her Own Backyardhttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/10/young-girl-finds-a-hero-in-her-own-backyard.aspxMon, 10 Sep 2018 12:19:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648964emorgan0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648964http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/10/young-girl-finds-a-hero-in-her-own-backyard.aspx#comments<p><i>Mariah Lester is an aspiring racing journalist about to enter college, where she hopes to lay the foundation for a career in writing about the recently discovered sport she loves and horses such as her local hero Stopshoppingdebbie, Queen of Emerald Downs, who opened the door to a wonderful new world. Because of her passion, astute writing style, and ability to tell her story in a captivating manner, I felt this piece written by her would be of interest to our readers and to all young racing fans. On very rare occasions I come across a story that deserves to be shared. More and more young girls are getting into racing journalism, thanks mainly to the internet and its many outlets acting as a starting off point. Count Mariah among them, and someone who appears to have a bright future.</i></p>
<p> By: Mariah Lester</p>
<p>For someone living near a lesser known track with the inability to travel, G1 winners, especially multiple G1 winners, are typically only seen on screen. These are elite horses, the ones who dominate the sales ring, the ones coveted by the breeding industry, and the ones who shine the brightest as beacons of hope for the sport. They bring in new, young fans wherever they tread, and keep old fans perpetually enthralled at how truly glorious the sport can be.</p>
<p>But, as stated, seldom do these champions visit smalltime tracks. Seldom could someone in the far flung corners of American racing be in the presence of their equine idol at home. Thus, while thousands go to watch these G1 champions in their races, there are many more who seldom witness them in victory, with their home tracks seldom trodden by these stars. But there’s still a way to experience the rush and thrill of a champion’s win. In my life, just over two decades, I find myself humbled and incredibly lucky to have had such an experience. Maybe it wasn’t to the deafening roar of the surreal thrill of American Pharaoh’s Belmont win, or the nigh unattainable spectacle of Black Caviar’s flawless career. But make no mistake: Stopshoppingdebbie was a star, and the Queen of her home track during her racing career. I wish today to tell the story of myself, and how this incredible mare cemented my young love of horse racing.</p>
<p>In truth, horse racing was what began my love of horses in the first place. It harked back to my Grandpa’s stories and frequent visits to local farms in the plains of Oklahoma. At the age of 13, a beloved horse of mine had passed away. We were extremely close, and to deal with the grief of this tremendous loss I returned to the roots of my passion: Horseracing. The first star that I ever followed was the then-Queen from Down Under: Black Caviar. In her I found joy amidst my anguish through the thrill and consistently new heights she would continue to reach throughout her career. This was my first dip into horseracing and was already a testament to the international draw that these magnificent animals can have in the world.</p>
<p>However, this very fact was also an obstacle. Of all of Black Caviar’s 25 races, I only was able to witness three. Three races, late into her career, on the small screen of my laptop at 12 a.m. Otherwise all news of her was found in the morning, which was already the next day for Australia. Thus, while Black Caviar’s feats were incredible, they were distant and echoing. My tether to the sport was weak as a result, as she was the only horse I cared to consistently follow, aside from my new habit of watching the Triple Crown--and only the Triple Crown—races; a series of races that had, up until very recently, foiled all comers to it. Afterwards I wouldn’t care to follow up on any of the horses that had run in them.</p>
<p>This would start to change, though, when my mom started taking me to our local track of Emerald Downs. Captivating as racehorses were on screen, their sheer majesty cannot be comprehended in the flesh. Their coats gleamed like polished metal, their almost greyhound-esque physique was surprisingly lithe and fluid. There was not a single movement of their beautiful forms that didn’t flow effortlessly into the other. Most of all was their presence. They had a youthful and unadulterated vigor and were raring for their upcoming race like a trap about to spring.</p>
<p>Yet when I once again took up the riding that I had stopped since the death of my companion, I stopped going, with my love of equines sated by my weekly interactions at my riding school. I still kept up with races, but loosely and complacently. Then a friend of mine had told me that there was an up-and-coming star at my local track who went by the name of Stopshoppingdebbie, already on a four-race winning streak at her home track. As these convoluted horse names can often be, her name was rather amusing to me. When I delved deeper I realized that she was anything but funny. She was all business. I followed her for a while on social media, but then it occurred to me that this presented a unique opportunity for me. For the first time in my life, a champion was within my reach, I would actually be able to see her.</p>
<p>So, upon her next race I decided that I would attend, and it changed my life. As usual, the Thoroughbreds before me were proud and beautiful, but Stopshoppingdebbie stood out most of all. The daughter of the mighty chestnut, Curlin, was a plain bay coloration that belied the innate calm and confidence she bore that commanded respect. She knew exactly who she was, and you could tell that there was a mind in her beautiful head that was laser focused on her job. Where all the other fillies and mares were prancing and on their toes, Stopshoppingdebbie strutted proudly in the saddling area. At one point, in a moment I actually captured on camera, she looked me dead in the eyes as she passed me. Her acknowledging, soulful gaze sent my heart racing: Here, I knew, was a real champion in the flesh.</p>
<p>This demeanor and confidence didn’t change a bit when she stepped onto the track, or as I watched from the rail as the horses were loaded into the gate mere yards ahead of me. It was really the first time I’d ever truly watched a horse race and didn’t just wait in the paddock area for more horses to arrive. But now I waited with bated breath and a speeding heart, with eyes locked on Stopshoppingdebbie’s stall. When the gates sprang, and the bell rang clear, the thundering herd of pounding hooves sounded almost primordial as they blew by Emerald Down’s grandstand for the first time. When all of them went into the far turn, I tracked Stopshoppingdebbie even as she became a small figure in the distance. She began to make her move on the final turn, and in the stretch she unleashed a devastating turn of foot that enabled her to draw away from her opponents by several lengths. She made the others look like they never had a chance.</p>
<p>Seeing her win was an exhilarating feeling I shall never forget, I even kept the race card containing her race as a keepsake. Where everyone else was going to collect their betting money, I stayed behind to watch Stopshoppingdebbie cool down before she entered the winner’s circle. The winner’s circle was another highlight of the experience. I never knew how close you could get to the winning horse until Stopshoppingdebbie stepped within it. Emerald Downs’ winner’s circle is somewhat more of a winner’s “pit”, as it was lower than the area around it, offering a raised view of the circle. She walked around a few times, letting all who were pressed against the railing, like myself, to observe her from above. Then, she posed, the camera clicked, and everyone dispersed. </p>
<p>Stopshoppingdebbie was dismounted, and her tack removed before she left the winner’s circle, I proceeded to follow her along the rail as far as I could while she walked back to her barn. Here one could truly see the impressive physique of this animal. She had a massive shoulder, powerful rear end and a sizable girth. I had witnessed just one race but already I felt like I was in the wake of an idol as she walked off into the distance. A local champion, the first champion I’d ever witnessed in person.</p>
<p>I would witness her race one more time before her voyage south to California, where she placed a disappointing butstill respectable fifth in the grade 3 L.A. Woman Stakes at Santa Anita. She retired after her defeat with $249,728 in earnings and a spotless record at Emerald Downs, with nine wins in nine starts and eight consecutive stakes wins at her home track. Currently she resides over half the country away in Georgetown, Kentucky at Town &amp; Country Farms where she now spends her time as a broodmare with the likes of Mo Chuisle (dam of grade 1 winner and U.S. Champion Sprinter, Points Offthebench) and Blushing Ogygian (dam of grade 1 winner and successful stallion, Street Boss). She now has several foals to her name, all by easily my most favorite stallions, and at present is currently in foal to Uncle Mo.</p>
<p>There is a light not often shone on local stars as I believe should be. These are the unsung heroes of racing. Horses like Black Caviar or Secretariat draw fans to horse racing. But for fans, being able to see and root for a local champion when you don’t live near a bigger track is what hooks you into the sport. I rooted for Stopshoppingdebbie when she left for California, as the vast majority of Washington State’s racing community did. Here was our state champion off to represent us, a horse we had seen win time and again in person on a regular basis. A mare that kept us going back to the track, wanting for more. Drawing Washington state citizens--from children to teenagers like myself at the time, to young adults as I am now-- into the sport, curious to see the local wonder that was Stopshoppingdebbie.</p>
<p>As for myself: I don’t expect to see Stopshoppingdebbie again, but I’m gladdened to have seen her at all, and through her to have gotten a proper introduction into the glorious moments of horseracing. She not only captivated me, but my family and friends who I’d speak to about her and would root for her.</p>
<p>She was Washington State’s champion, Queen of Emerald Downs, and our local hero.</p>
<img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648964" width="1" height="1">SecretariatBlack CaviarStopshoppingdebbieMariah LesterEast vs. West Showdown Looming in BC Classichttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/08/east-vs-west-showdown-looming-in-bc-classic.aspxSat, 08 Sep 2018 19:32:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648963Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648963http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/09/08/east-vs-west-showdown-looming-in-bc-classic.aspx#comments<p>There are few things more exciting in horse racing than rivalries and epic showdowns to decide championships. But when these rivalries or showdowns have an East vs. West storyline, it makes it all the more intriguing.</p>
<p>Of the few that we have had over the years, nothing tops the intensity of the Sunday Silence Silence vs. Easy Goer rivalry and their epic confrontations in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup Classic. Although Easy Goer was regarded as racing’s next superstar, it was Sunday Silence who won three of the four races, including one of the most anticipated showdowns of all time in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, in which he held off Easy Goer’s late charge by a neck.</p>
<p>Through the first half of the 20th century, no one paid much attention to California racing, except the years during Seabiscuit’s reign. But Seabiscuit is thought of by many as a California horse only because of his memorable exploits in the Santa Anita Handicap and his victories in the Hollywood Gold Cup, San Juan Capistrano, and Bay Meadows Handicap. But the truth is, only 16 of Seabiscuit’s 89 starts were in California, as he toured the country, competing at 17 racetracks from New England to the Midwest. In what was perceived by many as an East vs. West match race in the Pimlico Special, in which Seabiscuit defeated War Admiral, the fact is, Seabiscuit’s three starts prior to the match race were at Laurel and Havre de Grace in Maryland, and Belmont Park in New York. He had also run at Arlington Park and Agua Caliente that year.</p>
<p>The first major East vs. West showdown and rivalry came when California speedster Swaps defeated the mighty Nashua in the Kentucky Derby, and then headed back home, leaving Nashua to mop up the final two legs of the Triple Crown, as well as the Dwyer Stakes and Arlington Classic. Swaps, meanwhile, continued his winning streak, romping in the Will Rogers Stakes, defeating older horses in the Californian Stakes, and coasting to an easy victory in the Westerner Stakes, all at Hollywood Park, and setting a course record winning the American Derby on grass at Washington Park.</p>
<p>Racing fans clamored for a match race between these two great horses. After much discussion, it came to fruition at Washington Park on August 31, 1955. The fanfare leading up to their rematch rivaled the Seabiscuit – War Admiral match race. With Swaps reportedly nursing a bad foot and ducking out badly at the start, it was all Nashua, who cruised to a 6 1/2-length victory.</p>
<p>We have not seen anything of the magnitude of those early showdowns since, although we have had some great rivalries, the most famous and extensive being Affirmed and Alydar. But although Affirmed campaigned in California prior to the Triple Crown and Alydar on the East Coast, this was not considered an East vs. West rivalry, as they both were based in New York as 2-year-olds, when their rivalry began.</p>
<p>The 1958 Kentucky Derby was a showdown between the West’s Silky Sullivan, one of the most popular horses of all time, and Calumet’s Tim Tam, riding a six-race winning streak, and Main Chance Farm’s Jewel’s Reward. Silky, however, was highly overrated based on his spectacular stretch-running feats. As it turned out the true rivalry that winter and spring was between Tim Tam and longshot Lincoln Road, who tested the Calumet colt on several occasions.</p>
<p>A true East vs. West showdown in the Kentucky Derby occurred in 1979 when California sensation Flying Paster, who had romped in every major Derby prep in California, took on the Eastern-based 2-year-old champion Spectacular Bid. That rivalry would continue in earnest the following year in California. Although Flying Paster was virtually unbeatable when he wasn’t facing The Bid, he proved no match for the future Hall of Famer, falling to him every time they met.</p>
<p>Through the years we have seen East vs. West Triple Crown rivalries, such as Arts and Letters and Majestic Prince and Northern Dancer and Hill Rise. We have seen East vs. West Horse of the Year showdowns, such as Sword Dancer and Hillsdale in the 1959 Woodward Stakes that included the great Round Table, who raced pretty much everywhere. We also witnessed the year-end battles between Seattle Slew and Exceller, one of the first East vs. West grass rivalries between Fort Marcy and Fiddle Isle, and several great East vs. West filly rivalries and showdowns, such as Blind Luck and Havre de Grace, Go For Wand and Bayakoa in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and Lite Light and Meadow Star. </p>
<p>Although Songbird was coming off runaway victories in the Coaching Club American Oaks, Alabama, and Cotillion Stakes when she squared off against the great Beholder in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, she had spent the majority of her career in California, so that was not an East vs. West showdown, as epic a battle as it turned out to be.</p>
<p>The most anticipated showdown between two great fillies never happened, as Zenyatta, Queen of the West, and Rachel Alexandra, Queen of the East, never did get to face each other on the racetrack, although their social media rivalry was unparalleled. </p>
<p>So, here we are in 2018 and we have one of those classic East vs. West showdowns in the making, with Diversify, winner of the Whitney, Suburban, and last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup, on a collision course with Accelerate, who swept California’s big three races for older horses, the Santa Anita Handicap, Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic. Both horses were brilliant in their last start, and both have similar running styles, geared toward speed.</p>
<p>Diversify’s strength is front-running speed, with the ability to go fast early, running his opponents off their feet, and then keep going, while Accelerate’s strength is his high cruising speed, laying just off the pace and then blowing his opponents away. His last three victories were by a combined margin of 22 1/4 lengths. Diversify has proven he can beat you by huge margins or by a nose.</p>
<p>Both these horses have a come a long way, with Diversify emerging from New York-bred races and Accelerate having gone off at odds of 42-1 in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Now they are the headliners in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, assuming both are in the same form they are now.</p>
<p>Unlike most of the recent Breeders’ Cups, the vast majority run in California, we have the two big horses facing off at a neutral site in Churchill Downs. Diversify has a race over the track, but tired in the Clark Handicap after leading throughout, finishing fourth. It’s still a long way off, and we don’t know yet just where the impressive Travers winner Catholic Boy fits with the older horses, or how good the recent Woodward winner Yoshida really is. Both add a different dimension, making the transition from grass to dirt in a powerful way. But right now, it looks to be all about Accelerate and Diversify.</p>
<p>The last time we had horses of this caliber from the East and West in the Breeders’ Cup Classic was when Lava Man, the undisputed King of California, shipped to Churchill Downs to face the budding 3-year-old superstar Bernardini. Both horses were beaten by future Hall of Famer Invasor. </p>
<p>What is so intriguing about this year’s Breeders’ Cup is that not only do we have a classic East vs. West showdown in the Classic, but an already established rivalry between the West’s Abel Tasman and the East’s Elate in the Distaff, with the 3-year-old sensation Monomoy Girl thrown into the mix.</p>
<p>With the retirement of Triple Crown winner Justify, we need to fill the void with rivalries and showdowns such as these, as well as the recent grass-to-dirt stars Catholic Boy and Yoshida, the imminent return of West Coast, up-and-comers such as Catalina Cruiser and runaway Alabama winner Eskimo Kisses, and a horse like Mind Your Biscuits, who is versatile enough to run in the Sprint or the Classic.</p>
At this point, it is shaping up to be a fascinating Breeders’ Cup. Let the build-up begin.<p>&nbsp;</p> <img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648963" width="1" height="1">Breeders' CupBreeders' Cup ClassicAffirmedSeabiscuitalydarSwapsNashuaAbel TasmanMind Your BiscuitsEskimo KissesCatholic BoyDiversifyCatalina CruiserAccelerateYoshidaElateWith Catholic Boy, Always Keep the Faithhttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/08/26/Hangin-with-Haskin_3A00_-With-Catholic-Boy_2C00_-Always-Keep-the-Faith.aspxSun, 26 Aug 2018 23:09:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648952Michelle Benson0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648952http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/08/26/Hangin-with-Haskin_3A00_-With-Catholic-Boy_2C00_-Always-Keep-the-Faith.aspx#comments<p>Throughout modern day racing history, there have been top-class grass horses who could run big on dirt, like John Henry, and there have been top-class dirt horses who could run big on grass, like Secretariat.<br><br>But there is a third kind of horse that is extremely rare. That is the horse who is so gifted on both you can’t tell which is which. These are the switch hitters of horse racing. Is he left-handed who can hit right-handed or right-handed who can hit left-handed? Or is he simply ambidextrous and doesn’t favor one or the other, but is equally proficient hitting both ways?<br><br>Secretariat was on his way to becoming one of those rare horses, but was retired at the end of his 3-year-old campaign following a pair of spectacular victories on the grass. As great as he might have been on grass, Big Red will forever be considered a dirt horse, who may well have been the greatest of all time. Another is Big Brown, who also was retired as a 3-year-old. But his biggest wins came on dirt.<br><br>When grass racing was in its infancy, trainers were not afraid to run their big dirt horses in major turf races, mainly due to the prestige of the Washington D.C. International, which attracted top-class dirt horses such as Kelso, Damascus, Carry Back, Gun Bow, Roman Brother, and champion filly Desert Vixen. The unique accomplishment came in 1968, when Dr. Fager, off one gutsy victory in the United Nations Handicap, was named grass champion, along with Horse of the Year, Handicap Horse, and sprint champion, a feat that likely will never be duplicated.<br><br>The horse who first broke through the dirt/grass barrier was Round Table, who ran 66 times in the 1950s, the vast majority of those on the dirt, where he faced such talented horses as Bold Ruler, Gallant Man, Sword Dancer, Hillsdale, Iron Leige, Porterhouse, and Clem. But he also raced on grass 16 times, winning 14, with one second, while carrying 130 pounds or more eight times and breaking four course records, equaling another, and missing two others by a fifth of a second.<br><br>Then in the late ‘50s, we had a different kind of horse in Bald Eagle, who was a major stakes winner on grass in England early in his 3-year-old campaign, then came to the United States, where he excelled on dirt, being named champion Handicap Horse of 1960, but who also captured back-to-back runnings of the Washington D.C. International in 1959 and ’60.<br><br>Immediately following Bald Eagle, we had T V Lark, a confirmed dirt horse at 2, 3, and 4 until he found a home on the grass, closing out his career running 14 of his final 22 starts on turf and winning the 1961 Washington D.C. International.<br><br>These were the pioneers of the crossover horse. But their kind did not last much longer.<br><br>As grass racing grew in popularity in the United States, with big-money purses and the emergence of stakes such as the Man o’ War and Turf Classic, and then the Arlington Million, more and more horses turned to the grass and became strictly turf specialists, especially when the early grass horses started siring sons and daughters who excelled on the turf. Soon was born the expression “bred for the grass.”<br><br>The reason for this history lesson is to focus in one of those rare horses mentioned earlier – the kind where you can’t tell whether they are a grass horse who loves the dirt or a dirt horse who loves the grass. And that is why we should all embrace a horse like Catholic Boy, as we haven’t any horse come along quite like him in a number of years. No one is putting him in a class with Round Table quite yet, but he definitely is one of those seldom seen switch hitters with equal hitting prowess and power whether batting left-handed or right-handed. He is Mickey Mantle, slugging tape measure home runs from both sides of the plate.<br><br>I am not going to go over the story of Catholic Boy and his many virtues, having chronicled both in an earlier blog and in my comments and high ranking of him every week on the Derby Dozen. What is important now is appreciating his uncanny versatility and his rapidly growing charisma and popularity, which is desperately needed to at least partially fill the void left by the departure of Justify.<br><br>We saw him make the transition from grass to dirt with his dominating victory in the Remsen Stakes last year, and we saw it again on Saturday with his equally dominating score in the Travers Stakes. To win back-to-back $1 million stakes at a mile and a quarter on grass and dirt is pretty extraordinary. What he did was win the biggest race for 3-year-olds on grass, the Belmont Derby, and biggest post Triple Crown race for 3-year-olds on the dirt, the Midsummer Derby, and he won them in totally opposite ways – courageously battling back from certain defeat in the stretch after being passed and then blowing away one of the deepest and most competitive Travers fields in years.<br><br>In nine career starts, five on grass and four on dirt, and competing at six different racetracks on both coasts from 7 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, Catholic Boy has never been worse than fourth, and in his two fourth-place finishes, he bled badly in the Florida Derby and had a horrendous trip in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, yet still was beaten only 1 1/2 lengths for all the money and a head for third and a half-length for second.<br><br>To demonstrate where he gets his versatility and stamina, his progression of stallions in his female family reads like this: Bernardini, then Seeking the Gold (both dirt influences), then Europeans Nijinsky (the last Triple Crown winner) and the top-class English stayer Court Harwell. His second dam, grade 3 winner Winner’s Edge, is a half-sister to Park Hill Stakes winner and Lancashire Oaks runner-up Lucky Song, high-weighted filly at 1 3/4 miles and longer on the European Handicap, and his fourth dam, La Sevillana, was the 2-year-old and 3-year-old champion in Argentina and winner of the Argentine Oaks and 2,000 Guineas.<br><br>As I wrote in my first Derby Dozen on January 23, “I have to admit I fell in love with this colt in the paddock before the Remsen; he had an elegant, chiseled look about him, very alert and intelligent, and just looked like a classic racehorse. And he ran like it, gliding over the ground and leaving a very classy horse in Avery Island nearly 5 lengths behind over a deep track. And galloping out, he looked like he was just getting started. He seems very responsive, tossing his ears around, waiting for a command. He showed in the Remsen, his dirt debut, he, like many More Than Readys, can handle grass and dirt equally well.” <br><br>In summation, he is all racehorse and the quintessential pro who possesses the looks and the mind, as well as the courage and explosiveness, to be a special horse, which is something he has already proven himself to be. His piston-like strides generate a great deal of power, which enables him to possess that high cruising speed than can place him anywhere. </p><p>We don’t have horses like this come around very often, so we should embrace Catholic Boy, as we should any gifted horse who brings a distinctive flair to the sport, on one hand specializing in nothing, and on the other hand specializing in everything.<br><br>We had only one inductee into the Hall of Fame this year and that was the filly Heavenly Prize. In Catholic Boy, we have our own heavenly prize. No, he can’t walk on water, but he can sure run on everything else.</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648952" width="1" height="1">hangin with haskinRound TableCatholic Boy. Travers StakesEditor's Notehttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/08/25/editor-s-note.aspxSat, 25 Aug 2018 17:43:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648958Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648958http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/08/25/editor-s-note.aspx#commentsIn determining aftercare news coverage for its various platforms, including the distribution of press releases, BloodHorse uses accreditation by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance as an important barometer of an organization’s integrity and credibility because TAA’s extensive accreditation requirements include a detailed application process and on-site inspections.<br><br>This standard had not been in place for BloodHorse blogs when “Hangin’ With Haskin” published its feature about Dina Alborano’s I Care I Help organization but will be going forward. This standard along with serious concerns raised recently about the I Care I Help organization and discussions with author Steve Haskin factored into the decision to remove this blog entry from BloodHorse.com archives.<br><br>BloodHorse will not categorically dismiss a positive feature on an unaccredited organization recognizing that such programs may be doing valuable work, but these organizations will face greater scrutiny. The industry has in place a system to ensure the quality of aftercare programs and BloodHorse will use those resources in its editorial decisions.<br><br>BloodHorse is committed to thoughtful, thorough, and responsible news coverage of all aftercare-related issues and rescue organizations and will be covering the I Care I Help situation as it develops.<br><br>Steve Haskin offered the following comments on his post about Dina Alborano:<br><br>"Somehow this situation has gotten completely out of hand between these two factions (I Care I Help and the National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization). <br><br>"I just don’t understand this because everyone is trying to do good, everybody is working for a common cause, and now it has become too ugly and hostile and counterproductive. I don’t get involved in Dina’s rescue affairs. She has always indicated to me that all she wants to do is rescue animals, especially horses. I also wrote the first story on NTWO and fully support what they do, and I think what Maggi Moss does is terrific.<br><br>"The bottom line is this sport can't even rescue its horses without an all-out war, and, frankly, I am tired of being involved in it. Everyone has the same objectives. They should be united in a common cause and just focus on rescuing horses their own way. Going forward, all I am interested in is writing about the beauty of the sport and its history.”<img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648958" width="1" height="1">Dina AlboranoI Care I HelpEditor's NoteWhen Forego Owned the Woodwardhttp://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/08/18/when-forego-owned-the-woodward.aspxSat, 18 Aug 2018 19:04:00 GMTb1464f20-99eb-45e5-b651-41da03ecff36:648948Blood-Horse Staff0http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/rsscomments.aspx?PostID=648948http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2018/08/18/when-forego-owned-the-woodward.aspx#comments<p>No major stakes has undergone more changes than the Woodward Stakes, once regarded as the maker of champions, as it often was in the Woodward Stakes that horses clinched Horse of the Year honors.</p>
<p>Inaugurated in 1954, it has been run at three racetracks – Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga, the last its home since 2006. It has been run as a handicap, an allowance, and a weight-for-age event. It started out at the distance of one mile, then expanded to 1 1/8 miles one year later, and then to 1 1/4 miles one year after that. It was run at 1 1/4 miles for 16 years, then 1 1/2 miles for four years before being shortened back to 1 1/8 miles for two years, then back to 1 1/4 miles for three years, then back to 1 1/8 miles for seven years, then back to 1 1/4 miles for two years, then back to 1 1/8 miles, where it has remained for the past 28 years.</p>
<p>Run on Labor Day weekend at Saratoga, it has lost a great deal of its character, sitting between the Whitney and Jockey Club Gold Cup, and serving as another prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.</p>
<p>But there was a time when the Woodward was THE fall race of the year, run in late September, where many a showdown for Horse of the Year occurred. What launched the Woodward as the most important race of the fall was the battle for Horse of the Year&nbsp; in 1959 between the great Round Table, the leading California horse Hillsdale, and the Belmont and Travers winner Sword Dancer. When the diminutive 3-year-old Sword Dancer slipped through along the rail under Eddie Arcaro to nip Hillsdale by a head, it boosted the reputation of the Woodward as the definitive battleground for Horse of the Year.</p>
<p>Sword Dancer won it again in 1960, and then came Kelso’s three straight victories from 1961 to 1963, earning the great gelding the Horse of the Year title all three years. In 1964, Gun Bow’s dramatic nose victory over Kelso was one of the greatest races anyone had seen in a long time. The next three winners – Roman Brother, Buckpasser, and Damascus – all were named Horse of the Year.</p>
<p>The 1967 showdown between future Hall of Famers Damascus, Buckpasser and Dr. Fager was called the “Race of the Century” until Damascus blew it wide open with his sensational 10-length romp. Two years later, the outstanding 3-year-old Arts and Letters defeated the leading older horse Nodouble to nail down Horse of the Year honors.</p>
<p>In 1972, the distance of the race was changed to a mile and a half, and when the Marlboro Cup was introduced in 1973 featuring Secretariat and Riva Ridge, the Woodward seemed to lose its identity. But one horse made sure it didn’t lose its importance.</p>
<p>That horse was the Mighty Forego, who captured the Woodward an unprecedented four consecutive years from 1974 to 1977, with each one writing its own chapter in the history books.</p>
<p>Yes, Kelso’s feat of winning five straight Jockey Club Gold Cups was phenomenal, but at two miles it often drew small fields and served mostly as an encore and a procession for horses who had already secured Horse of the Year honors.</p>
<p>When Forego won his four straight Woodwards, each was a competitive affair and an important race in deciding the championships.</p>
<p>Many racing fans today do not realize just how important Forego was to the Sport of Kings. The void left by Secretariat’s early retirement in 1973 was so enormous it looked to be impossible to fill. But along came the Herculean Forego, a mountain of a horse, who was still a growing baby when he finished fourth to Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby. He began to come into his own at the end of his 3-year-old campaign. But it was as a 4-year-old that he grew into a legend. And that legend continued to grow over the next four years when he dominated the sport and won the hearts of the entire nation.</p>
<p>From May 30, 1973 until August 6, 1977, Forego went an incredible 45 consecutive races without finishing worse than fourth. In fact, he finished in the top three in 43 of those races. He carried 130 pounds or more 24 times, winning 13 of them and finishing in the money in 21 of them. In those 24 races, his average weight was an astounding 134 pounds, and he carried as much as 137 pounds going 1 1/4 miles, which he won, 138 pounds going 1 1/4 miles, in which he was beaten a neck, and 137 pounds going 1 1/2 miles, in which he was second.</p>
<p>Of the great weight carriers over a distance of ground – Forego, Kelso, Discovery, Equipoise, and Exteminator, only Exterminator and Forego were able to win a stakes race carrying as much as 136 pounds at the age of 7.</p>
<p>To demonstrate Forego’s remarkable versatility, he won four of his five starts, with one second, at distances of 1 1/2 miles or longer, and won eight of his 12 starts, with two seconds and two thirds, at seven furlongs. </p>
<p>What made Forego’s feats so extraordinary was that he went through his entire career with sesamoid problems and calcium deposits on his knees. When Frank Whiteley took over his training in 1976 from Sherrill Ward, who was having health problems, he told owner Martha Gerry that Forego had the worst legs he’d ever seen on a horse. It was said about Forego that he basically had one sound leg. Whitely would sit outside his barn every day for several hours hosing down his legs. He would hose him down so long it created a puddle so large it became known around the barn as Lake Whiteley.</p>
<p>As Whiteley said several years ago, “Everybody laughed at me when I took him, even Doc (Alex) Harthill, who X-rayed him and told me, ‘Frank, you haven't got a chance with this horse.’ It was the constant hosing of his legs that helped get him to the races. I got a picture of in my bedroom of me and two other guys runnin’ three hoses on him at the same time. We’d hose him twice a day for two to three hours each time. We also did a lot of massaging. His ankles were horrible to look at from so much wear and tear. He was an amazing horse to do the things he did.”</p>
<p>Forego’s amazing accomplishments began in the 1974 Woodward when it began one of the most remarkable three-race winning streaks, and displays of versatility, anyone had ever seen.</p>
<p><b>1974 WOODWARD STAKES</b> &nbsp;</p>
<p>Forego first showed his uncanny versatility earlier in the year when he scored victories in the mile and a quarter Gulfstream Park and Widener Handicaps, winning the former in a near-track record 1:59 4/5, and then dropped down to seven furlongs in the Carter Handicap, where, under topweight of 129 pounds, he blew right by the fastest sprinter in the country, Mr. Prospector, to win by 2 1/4 lengths in 1:22 1/5. It came as a shock when he was then upset by the tough little Arbees Boy in the Met Mile, even though Forego was carrying 134 pounds and giving 22 pounds to Arbees Boy.</p>
<p>Forego turned the tables on Arbees Boy in the Brooklyn Handicap, but in his two losses to Big Spruce in the Governor Stakes and Marlboro Cup, he finished behind Arbees Boy.</p>
<p>Then came the Woodward Stakes, now run at 1 1/2 miles. This would be the race that began the Forego dynasty. Forego dropped back to 10th in the 11-horse field, 17 lengths off the slow pace (:49 and 1:13 2/5) set by the Allen Jerkens-trained distance loving Group Plan. Arbees Boy was in a good position in midpack. When jockey Heliodoro Gustines asked Forego to pick it up, the big gelding began to make up ground quickly, but was unable to find room between horses. Arbees Boy, meanwhile was making a sweeping move on the outside to move into contention. </p>
<p>Trapped behind horses, Gustines swung Forego to the outside and he began gobbling up the ground. Arbees Boy passed Group Plan inside the eighth pole and was still going strong. But Forego was relentless. He kept coming with those ground-devouring strides and nipped Arbees Boy at the wire to win by a neck, coming home his final quarter in :24 1/5 and stopping the clock at a solid 2:27 2/5.</p>
<p>What Forego did after that was unprecedented. He dropped back to seven furlongs in the Vosburgh Handicap, and carrying 131 pounds, he easily defeated Stop the Music by 3 1/2 lengths in 1:21 3/5. He then won the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup by 2 1/2 lengths over the French invader Copte and Group Plan in a sharp 3:21 1/5.</p>
<p>So, in the span if six weeks, Forego won major stakes at 1 1/2 miles, seven furlongs, and two miles. He became the only horse in history to win the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup and be voted champion sprinter the same year. And he was the overwhelming selection as Horse of the Year.</p>
<p>The legend of Forego was born.</p>
<p><b>1975 WOODWARD STAKES</b></p>
<p>This was the year Forego would meet his toughest test and arguably his toughest challenger. He started the year off with victories in the Seminole, Widener, and Carter Handicaps, again winning the seven-furlong sprint coming off a victory at 1 1/4 miles. This time he won the Carter under 134 pounds. Assigned a staggering 136 pounds in the Met Mile, he finished third behind the Damascus colt Gold and Myrrh, in receipt of 15 pounds. But he bounced back with victories in the Brooklyn Handicap under 132 pounds, setting a new track record of 1:59 4/5 for the 1 1/4 miles, and mile and a half Suburban Handicap under 134 pounds, beating his old nemesis Arbees Boy by a head, giving him 16 pounds.</p>
<p>With five major stakes victories under heavy weights and the great Ruffian having met a tragic end in her match race with Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure, Forego looked to be a sure thing for another Horse of the Year title.</p>
<p>But the 5-year-old gelding wasn’t quite ready for the emerging 3-year-old star Wajima. Sold as a yearling for a record $600,000 (equivalent to $3.3 million today), this magnificent-looking son of Bold Ruler burst on the scene with an eight-length victory in the Marylander Handicap at Bowie. He followed that up with a gutsy neck score in the Monmouth Invitational Handicap (now the Haskell Invitational), and blew everyone away in the Travers Stakes, winning off by 10 lengths, a second off the track record.</p>
<p>It was time for Wajima and Foolish Pleasure to try older horses in the Governor Stakes, in which Wajima would carry a feathery 115 pounds, 19 pounds less that Forego’s topweight of 134 pounds.</p>
<p>Sent off as the 5-2 second&nbsp; choice, Wajima came from far back and outdueled Foolish Pleasure to win by a head, with Forego’s late wide move coming up 2 3/4 lengths short. It was the only time he finished as far back as fourth since the previous year’s Governor Stakes.</p>
<p>Now it was on to the mile and a quarter Marlboro Cup and a rematch between Forego and Wajima, with Foolish Pleasure and the brilliant and hard knocking Ancient Title, who was third in the Governor Stakes, both back for another try, along with Belmont Stakes winner Avatar.</p>
<p>Forego, carrying 129 pounds, was made the 7-5 favorite, with Foolish Pleasure 5-2, and Wajima a generous 9-2.</p>
<p>Forego and Wajima were running last and next to last, respectively, early, about a half-dozen lengths behind the pacesetting Royal Glint. Wajima took the outside route after running into traffic problems, while Forego, uncharacteristically, rallied along the rail. He stuck his head in front at the eighth pole, but here came Wajima again, and the two battled to the wire, with Wajima, in receipt of 10 pounds, getting his head in front. Forego never seemed as comfortable being inside horses as he was on the far outside where he could use that gargantuan stride. The final time of 2:00 flat was one-fifth off Forego’s track record.</p>
<p>Wajima had now taken over as the leading contender for Horse of the Year, a title he could nail down with a victory in the mile and a half Woodward Stakes.</p>
<p>Only four others showed up, including Group Plan and Avatar, both of whom relished the mile an a half. For Sherrill Ward, the strategy was simple. To beat Wajima, Forego had to be able to use the intimidation factor and stalk Wajima the whole way, sitting just off his outside flank. Then he would wear him down going a mile and a half with that humongous stride. And he finally was going to get a weight-for-age race and not have to worry about giving away large chunks of weight.</p>
<p>Everyone was aware that a victory by either Forego, the 4-5 favorite, or Wajima, at even-money, would nail down Horse of the Year honors.</p>
<p>Avatar tried to use his stamina by setting a slow pace, and after a half-mile in :49 3/5, Wajima moved up alongside him in second, with Forego, as planned, breathing down his neck on the outside. They continued that way down the backstretch, the six furlongs in 1:13 2/5, and around the far turn. </p>
<p>As soon as Braulio Baeza asked Wajima for his run, Gustines gunned Forego, and the big gelding stuck his head in front at the head of the stretch. The two favorites drew well clear of the others, again battling head and head down the stretch. But this time, Forego was able to get the better of his younger rival and he began to ease clear inside the eighth pole, drawing away to a 1 3/4-length victory. It was 11 lengths back to Group Plan in third. Horse of the Year was his once again, as was another victory in the Woodward.</p>
<p><b>1976 WOODWARD HANDICAP</b></p>
<p>This very well may be one of the most forgotten and underrated performances of all time. Forego, now trained by Frank Whiteley, finally won his first Met Mile, beating the previous year’s Preakness winner Master Derby while carrying 130 pounds. That was followed by a victory in the Nassau County Handicap under 132 pounds and a nose defeat to Foolish Pleasure in the Suburban Handicap under 134 pounds.</p>
<p>But one thing about Forego, whenever he was beaten, you could count on payback time, and he came right back to defeat the tough Lord Rebeau and Foolish Pleasure in the Brooklyn Handicap, again carrying 134 pounds. In the Amory Haskell, he was unable to give Greentree’s Hatchet Man 24 pounds and had to settle for third, beaten one length.</p>
<p>Now, when you mention Forego’s 1976 campaign, everyone thinks of his dramatic stretch run in the Marlboro Cup, in which he just got up to defeat Travers winner Honest Pleasure by a head carrying a burdensome 137 pounds and coming within one-fifth of a second of his own track record. It was truly one of the epic stretch runs of all time, and the image of Forego charging past Honest Pleasure right on the wire way out in the middle of the track has become frozen in time.</p>
<p>But few remember the race that came before that. In the Woodward, now run as a handicap at 1 1/8 miles, Forego was meeting Honest Pleasure for the first time following the 3-year-old’s track record-breaking victory in the Travers Stakes, in which he wired his field by four lengths.</p>
<p>Also in the field was the 3-year-old Dance Spell, winner of the Jerome and Jamaica Handicaps and Saranac Stakes, as well as the Amory Haskell winner Hatchet Man.</p>
<p>Forego, sent off at even-money, was assigned 135 pounds and was giving 14 pounds to Honest Pleasure, 20 pounds to Dance Spell, and 21 pounds to Hatchet Man. </p>
<p>Honest Pleasure, sent off at 2-1, as expected, shot to the lead and was winging it out there through a half in :45 3/5. Forego, now ridden by Bill Shoemaker, was nine lengths back in seventh. Shoemaker saved ground most of the way before easing Forego to the outside at the three-eighths pole. Dance Spell had gotten first move and collared Honest Pleasure at the eighth pole. But here came the big freight train rolling out in the middle of the track.</p>
<p>With a blistering final eighth in :11 3/5, Forego roared by Dance Spell and drew off to score by 1 1/4 lengths. What made this performance so spectacular was the final time of 1:45 4/5, two-fifths off Secretariat’s world record. To run that fast carrying that much weight, going 1 1/8 miles, was truly historic and was one of the greatest performances we will ever see.</p>
<p>But, as mentioned, few remember it, as it remains lost in the spectacle of the Marlboro Cup.</p>
<p><b>1977 WOODWARD HANDICAP</b></p>
<p>This arguably was Forego’s most emotional victory. Now 7 years old, Forego won his second Met Mile, carrying 133 pounds and followed that up with another score in the Nassau County Handicap under 136 pounds. But his legs, the wear and tear, and the staggering weights finally caught up to him, and he was beaten a neck in the Suburban under 138 pounds and was a well-beaten second in the mile and a half Brooklyn under 137 pounds. </p>
<p>He then shipped to Saratoga for the Whitney Handicap over a very sloppy and slippery track he could never get hold of under 136 pounds. It was the only time he finished up the track. It looked as if the Mighty Forego finally was nearing the end of the line. Mrs. Gerry and Whiteley wanted to scratch him in the Whitney, but because so many people had shown up to see Forego, Mrs. Gerry didn't want to disappoint them and decided to let him run. Whiteley told Bill Shoemaker before the race if he saw Forego wasn't handling the track after the first few strides to just sit on him and let him run around there and bring him back safe. </p>
<p>Shoemaker could sense right away that Forego was slipping over the track and was unable to grab hold of it, and did as Whiteley said. It was a bitter disappointment for the Saratoga fans and Forego’s loyal legion of fans, and after three straight defeats, the thought entered everyone’s mind that Forego, at age 7, was not the same horse and that his career finally was coming to the end.</p>
<p>Forego returned to Belmont to point for the Woodward. This would be the big test to see whether he had any more to give. Unfortunately, the track came up sloppy again, leaving Whiteley and Mrs. Gerry with another tough decision. Yes, Forego had won the Marlboro Cup on a sloppy track the year before, but that was a drying out surface that was pretty firm underneath. Unlike the slick conditions in the Whitney, this also was more of a drying out slop, but not as fast as the Marlboro Cup and with plenty of moisture still in it. Forego, despite losing his last three races, would have to run over the wet surface carrying 133 pounds, giving 18 pounds to Great Contractor, the horse who beat him by 11 lengths in the Brooklyn; 12 pounds to J.O. Tobin, who was making his first start since annihilating Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew in the Swaps Stakes in a blazing 1:58 3/5 for the 1 1/4 miles; and 19 pounds to Silver Series, winner of the Ohio, American, and Hawthorne Derbys and third in the Travers. </p>
<p>Whiteley, Mrs. Gerry, Shoemaker, and Frank's son David, a successful trainer in his own right, met in the tunnel several hours before the race to discuss the situation and whether they should run or not. David said he didn't want any part of it and left. Mrs. Gerry, having learned from the Saratoga experience, this time wanted to scratch and wait for the Marlboro Cup two weeks later. Shoemaker had ridden in one of the early races and said he thought the track was too bad to take a chance. Whiteley, who wanted to scratch in the Whitney, said the horse was at the top of his game and ready to run. He knew he had Forego in the best shape he could possibly get him and felt he couldn't keep him that good for another two weeks. Whiteley was convinced Forego was ready for a big effort when the horse bit two people in the barn that morning. So, all day, fans waited for the inevitable announcement that Forego had been scratched. It never came.</p>
<p>Forego emerged from the barn looking fantastic, his coat beautifully dappled, and it was apparent he was in the zone. The only question was the track, which still was listed as sloppy.</p>
<p>The fans had their doubts as well, making Forego the 9-5 favorite, his highest odds in more than two years. J.O. Tobin, who was bet down to 5-2, set most of the early pace along with Proud Birdie. They cut out swift fractions, with Forego in eighth, about 10 lengths back.</p>
<p>As they hit the far turn, all eyes were on Forego. Would he make his patented sweeping run or were we watching the end of an era? No one had any idea how he was handling the track, so we waited and hoped. Then it happened. In a flash, Forego kicked in and began picking off horses one by one with those magnificent strides, just as he had done so many times before. Track announcer Chic Anderson bellowed to the crowd, “He’s gonna run today, folks.”</p>
<p>That brought an eruption from the crowd, as they knew the old boy was back, circling the field way out in the middle of the track, where he made most of his winning moves. Even though he still had several lengths to make up, everyone knew there was no way he was getting beat on this day.</p>
<p>Yes, he ran today, folks, just like the Forego of old. He was still fourth at the eighth pole, but only a half-length off the new battling leaders Cinteelo, Silver Series, and Great Contractor. Forego was still well out in the middle of track, and it was obvious he had the others measured. He charged to the front and drew off to win by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:48 flat. You could feel the emotion rippling throughout Belmont. It was hard not to get goose bumps. Forego was back. The 1977 Woodward to this day remains one of the most emotional and satisfying races I've ever experienced.</p>
<p>But, as it turned out, Forego was back only for this one brief moment. His ankles caught up to him after the race and he was put away for the year. He came back the following June at age 8 to defeat Dr. Patches going seven furlongs, and then beat only one horse, finishing fifth, in the Suburban Handicap under 132 pounds. His ankles had finally betrayed him. It was time to call it quits.</p>
<p>Forego’s four Woodward victories will forever hold a special place in history, each one in its own way typifying the greatness that was the Mighty Forego.
</p><img src="http://cs.bloodhorse.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=648948" width="1" height="1">saratogaBelmont ParkForegoFrank WhiteleyWoodward StakesAqueductBill ShoemakerWajimaMrs. GerryDavid Whiteley